Libris Demonica
by weirdbard
Summary: Serena always thought books (at lest those not comic books) were boring. Safe but boring.  What happens when she comes across a book neither safe nor boring?
1. Default Chapter

  


Disclaimers: The characters from Sailor Moon are the intellectual properties of their creator. No profit is being made from this story.

  
  


Libris Demonica  


  


Chapter 1

  


by Weirdbard 

  
  


Serena was a happy young woman. Summer vacation from school had just begun. There hadn't been any attacks from any youmas lately and biggest of all miracles, she was actually getting along with Rini.

  


Ever since the business with the Dark Moon Circus and Queen Helenia, Serena accepted both in her heart as well as in her mind that Rini was going to be her future daughter. She had made a promise to the little girl that they would share everything in life and be there for each other and Serena was a young woman of her word. No more did she call Rini, Spore, Fungus or other less than complimentary names. Now Rini was either Rini or as was happening more and more often, Little Lady.

  


"Come on Little Lady. We are going to be late meeting the others. I told them that we would meet them at ten, so we could do some shopping before lunch." Serena called upstairs to Rini.

  


"Coming mommy!" Rini called back down. Rini had also accepted that Serena was her future mother in both her mind and heart as well. She made sure never to call her mommy when there was a chance that others might overhear. After all explaining how Serena could be her mother when she wasn't all that much older than Rini could be quite the trick. However Serena and Rini were alone in the house for the next three weeks. Serena's parents and Sammy had gone to visit some distant relatives and it had been decided that Serena was old enough to stay home and look after her 'cousin' Rini. So Rini was taking every opportunity she could to call Serena mommy. To Rini it just felt wonderful to be able to call Serena and Darien mommy and daddy.

  


Serena and Rini left the house and proceeded to leisurely make their way to where they were meeting the other scouts for shopping and lunch. Another example on how Serena was changing for the better was that she now scheduled her time so she didn't have to hurry or run any place anymore. Serena realized that her destiny and her future was rapidly approaching and she became determined to be prepared to meet that future and be the great lady that Rini constantly talked about with such love and devotion.

  


Reaching the location that Serena had agreed to meet the others, a new store recently opened that had been picked by Amy as the gathering place. Serena noted with a laugh that it was a bookstore. "Trust Amy to pick a new bookstore as a meeting place." Serena thought to herself.   
Glancing at her watch she noted that she was ten minutes early. Gesturing at a bench outside of the store for Rini to sit down, she saw Amy coming out of the crowd towards her.

  


"Amy!" Serena squealed happily and grabbed her friend in a hug. It wasn't like Serena had not seen Amy just a few days ago but Serena was always boisterous in her greetings.   
It was one of the things that her friends loved the most about her. You always knew that Serena was glad to see you.  
Serena releasing Amy from her hug then held her at arm's length and looked at her with a mock frown. "Meet outside a bookstore?" She asked her and then grinned.

  


"I thought you might like to take a look inside and maybe find some nice books to read over the summer." Amy said with a smile of her own.

  


"Books over the summer?! Um, isn't that like schoolwork? Isn't there a law that you don't have to study or think outside of school? If there isn't I should enact one when I get to be Neo Queen Serenity." Serena joked.

  


Rini looking around to make sure that they were relatively alone on the street outside of the bookstore and said. "Mommy in the future was always proud of how much she read and knew. She used to say that knowledge is true power."

  


Serena and Amy looked at each other and blinked for a moment. Serena then dropping to one knee beside the bench so she could look Rini in the eye asked. "Are you sure that I am your mother in the future?" Serena then smiled to show she was joking.

  


"See Serena? Sometime in the future you develop a love for learning and knowledge that is equal to mine." Amy broke off when she saw identical expressions of doubt and disbelief on Serena's and Rini's faces. Amy laughed. "Okay maybe not equal to mine but still you accept that learning is very valuable. Who knows? Maybe that thirst for knowledge starts today in this very bookstore?"

  


Serena looking less that thrilled and even less convinced but finally nodded. "Oh okay. It will be a few more minutes before the others show up anyway. Maybe they have comic books in there as well?" The last she added in a hopeful voice.

  


Amy shook her head. "No, sorry Serena. This bookstore is quickly making a name for itself as the place to find rare and ancient books on history and philosophy. They only deal in books of knowledge. No comics in there."

  


Serena was reassured when she glanced down at Rini and saw a less than ecstatic look on her face as well. "Oh well come on Little Lady, let's see if I can expand my mind with something from there."

  


Amy looked surprised and a little triumphant. Getting Serena to actually go inside the bookstore let alone consider buying a non fiction or non comic book she had felt was too much to hope for but it looked like Serena was serious in her efforts to improve herself.

  


As they entered the bookstore Amy made a beeline for some old manuscripts dealing with mathematics. Serena and Rini shared a look among themselves and quickly moved on away from that section.   
Serena was a little lost. She wanted something that not only could be useful to her future self but significantly impressive enough to impress Darien with her desire to improve and prepare herself for the future.

  


Seeing a man obviously working at the store putting books on the shelves, Serena walked up behind him and politely cleared her throat to get his attention. As the man turned Serena noted several things about him. One was that even though he was wearing clean clothes there was something about him that suggested he was filthy. He had tattoos down both arms but his arms were so hairy Serena couldn't tell what the tattoos were of. He had long scraggly hair that came down over his eyes and as he peered out from underneath the hair Serena could see his eyes seemed to be too shinny and too staring. Without  
consciously thinking about it Serena took several steps back and to the side to shield Rini from the man's view.

  


"Yeah? What do you want?" The man practically growled at her as he looked her over.

  


Serena made a nervous gesture to pull her skirt a little lower as she noticed the man staring at her legs. "I was looking for a book. Something on history maybe. Perhaps something a little exotic?" She said in a nervous voice.

  


The man continued to stare at her for a moment and then with a grin that made Serena uncomfortable, pulled a book from a bag at his feet. "They say this book is very, very ancient. It is suppose to be about a kingdom that existed long before history books were even written. Some tell me that the book says the kingdom didn't even exist on this world. Is that exotic enough for you?"

  


Serena felt a slight thrill run through her.   
"Could this creepy guy be talking about the Moon Kingdom?! Wouldn't it be incredible if I could find out some of the history of the Moon Kingdom and impress Darien with that knowledge?!"  


  


Serena's thrill ended when she took a good look at the book however.   
The book was massive in size! And it was hideous!   
The leather the book was made out of was a grayish color and it looked like it had a flattened out face on either side of it. Serena could easily see that it was no trick of the light and traced with her finger tips the raised closed mouth and eyes on the cover of the book as the man handed it to her. She also noted that the book felt strange. The leather was almost slick in nature and even though it was dry and somewhat dusty, it left a impression of sliminess on her hands.

  


"Well I'm sure I couldn't afford such a old and valuable a book." Serena hurriedly replied as she tried to hand the book back to the man.

  


The man made no effort to take the book back from her however. "I said it was old, true. But valuable? No. Who wants a history and philosophy book based on some mythical kingdom?" The man then quoted Serena a price that was less than what she had paid for her last comic book.

  


"Well I can't really beat the price." Serena thought to herself. "And I did want something to impress Darien with, and this thing is sure impressive in a sort of horrid looking way."

  


"Okay I will buy it." She reluctantly told the man. The man quickly lead her to a old fashioned crank style cash register deep in the store while Rini wandered around looking at some travel books nearby. Putting the book in a large cloth bag he then handed it over to Serena. As Serena and Rini started towards the front of the store to collect Amy, neither one of them noticed as the man turned towards a book aisle and taking a few steps then disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

  


Reaching the front of the store, Serena and Rini watched as Amy purchased several new text books. The man behind the counter rang up her purchases on a brand new digital cash register and placed Amy's books in a plastic bag with the store's logo on it.

  


As the three then walked out of the store one of the employees asked another one. "Was that blond girl carrying a bag when she came in?"

  


"She must have been. We don't have any cloth bags like that here."

  


"By the way, what are we suppose to do with that antique cash register back there?"

  


"It is to go as a display over near the books on antiques."

  


"Oh okay."

  


Amy looked over at her friend as they sat down on the park bench to wait for the others to show up. "Did you buy anything Serena?" She asked.

  


"Yeah I found this book on history and philosophy. At least that is what the guy told me it was. I got it really cheap too." Serena said as she started to slide the book from it's  
cloth bag to show Amy but was distracted when she saw Lita, Mina and Raye walking up to meet them. Sliding the partially revealed book back into it's bag she laid it down on the  
bench and along with Amy and Rini leapt up to greet their friends.

  


As the friends were standing and talking no one noticed as a slightly unsavory looking character as he ran over to the bench and grabbed up Serena's book bag. The would be thief seeing that the girls were too busy talking to notice started to slide the book free from its bag to try and gage how valuable the item might be.   
In other words if it was worth his effort to steal it.   
As the 'eyes' of the book cleared the bag, the thief stared in shock as they opened and he found himself staring into two white swirling orbs. After staring for a moment the man carefully slide the book back into its bag and laid in back down on the bench. Then walking quickly the man came to a narrow alley between two businesses. Stepping into the alley the man then fell flat on his face and silently twitched a few times before dying.

  


Serena with a slight mock glare at Raye raced back to the bench to get her book to prove to her that Amy was telling the truth when she told them that she had gotten Serena into a bookstore that didn't sell comic books and she had actually purchased something.

  


"Okay, okay Meatball head. I believe you." Raye said as Serena started to slide the book from its bag. "You only bought it to impress Darien I bet."

  


Serena started to frown and launch into an argument with Raye but then just laughed and allowed the book to slide back into its bag. "What if I did? I will still have to read the thing now in case Darien decides to quiz me on what is in it."

  


"Yes Raye." Amy leapt to Serena's defense. "I think it speaks very well of her to want to improve herself and read a non fiction book over the summer. Perhaps after she finishes this one she will want to get some more books and read them as well."

  


"Um Amy? Don't push it." Serena said and then laughed with the others.

  


The rest of the day was spent shopping, eating, shopping and even more eating. It was quickly turning into one of Serena's most favorite days. She laughed with her friends and felt loved. Serena couldn't imagine living in a world she didn't have her friends with her and was happy she would never have to.

  


As the day drew to a close Serena waved bye to her friends and her and Rini started for home.

  


"Are we going out with Darien tonight?" Rini asked her as they came to their house.

  


Serena would have been attacked with jealous anger at the way Rini had phrased the question back in the beginning when she had first met Rini but not now. Accepting that Rini was her and Darien's future child she didn't mind spending time with both her and Darien. In fact she loved it.  
It was still nice to get time alone with Darien of course but Serena accepted there was times when she couldn't have him all to herself.

  


"Not tonight Little Lady. He is having to work late tonight. It will be just you and me tonight."

  


"Are you cooking?" Rini tried to make the question sound innocent but couldn't help a note of apprehension from creeping in.

  


Serena didn't take offense though and laughed. "No I am going to have some take out sent over but not for a while yet. We both pigged out on ice cream just a short while ago."

  


Rini smiled and then yawned. "Is it okay if I take a nap before dinner? All the shopping today wore me out."

  


"You are a amateur shopper yet. When me and Mina get through with you, you'll be able to shop all day and most of the night." Serena laughed. "I don't see any reason why you can't take a little nap before dinner though. I'll wake you when the food arrives."

  


"You know in the future you don't get very many chances to shop any more. What with running everything with daddy. You always said you regretted not being able to just drop everything and run off for a 'mall crawl' with the other girls. I can see why now. It's fun." Rini smiled and then ran upstairs.

  


Serena going to her room placed the book bag on her desk and then looked around the room. She noticed that Luna was missing again. She remembered that she hadn't seen Artemis with Mina today either. "It would seem that those two were growing closer together. I guess they can't wait for their destinies and futures to reach them either." Serena thought with a smile.  
Looking longingly at her bed for a moment Serena decided she better resist the urge to take her own nap. She didn't want to sleep too long and have Rini wake her up complaining that she didn't get the food like she said she would.  
Sighing Serena sat down at her desk and pulling the bookbag over to her she quickly slid the book out from it and really examined it.

  


"Yep, it's still ugly and still big." She thought. She noticed something she had missed at the bookstore though. It had a huge leather strap running from one cover to the other, holding it close. Serena examined the silver clasp on the front of the book and wondered to herself how you opened it. Tugging a few times proved to be useless. The book was sealed close and she couldn't see any catch or lock on it she could open. Letting the book drop to the desktop she laughed at herself.   
"Way to go Serena! Buy a book you don't really want to read and then find out you can't even figure out how to open it anyway."

  


Looking across the desk for something to try and pry the catch open she spotted a picture of her and Darien together. The picture frame was of silver and had a built in tiny flower vase that was holding a single perfect rose in it. The rose was not one of the magical ones that Tuxedo Mask created when fighting but a normal rose that Darien in his everyday guise had grown at a friend's green house at the botanical gardens. Darien took great pride in making sure that Serena always had a perfect rose with her to remind her of him.  
Reaching out Serena started to take the rose from the vase to smell it.

  


"Ouch!" Serena yelped as she stuck herself on a thorn on the rose. Darien always tried to trim the thorns off of the roses he gave to her but roses had the habit of always having one more thorn you missed seeing so they could stick you.

  


Seeing that her finger was bleeding from being stuck, Serena stuck it in her mouth and sucked on the wound for a second before taking her finger out of her mouth. Shaking her head at her own carelessness in getting stuck she allowed her hand to relax naturally. As the hand with the bleeding finger came down it landed on the book she bought. A single drop of bright red blood fell from her finger to land on the 'mouth' of the book. Serena was not watching or she would have seen as the 'eyes' of the book flickered open briefly and immediately close again and the 'mouth' twitch slightly in a grim smile.  
She did however hear as the clasp holding the book closed snap open with a almost pistol like shot.

  


Jumping back a little in shock at the sudden sound, Serena glanced down at the book and saw it was now unlocked. Shrugging at the weirdness of it all she opened the book and started to read.

  


The first page she saw was obviously the title of the book.

  


The Necronomicon.

  
  


The title meant nothing to Serena and she flipped a few pages over. Suddenly Serena found herself looking at a illustration of a man with his skin cut open revealing his inner organs. The illustration was disturbingly realistic and was drawn in a reddish/black ink.  
"Ewww. The guy at the bookstore must be wrong. This isn't a history or philosophy book it must be a medical book. Well maybe Amy will be interested in it at least." Serena thought to herself.

  


Flipping to the next page Serena wondered to herself exactly what kind of book she had when she saw a illustration of something that was not even human. It looked kind of like one of the Cardian youmas she had fought as Sailor Moon back during the Ann and Allen doom tree business. Noticing strange writing below the picture Serena screwed up her eyes trying to read it. She wasn't sure what language it was but it sure wasn't Japanese or English. The letters looked more like Arabic script than anything else she had ever seen.  
As Serena continued to stare at the weird writing she could swear the letters started to squirm on the page and rearrange themselves. In a matter of moment the strange symbols had reformed into writing she could read! Serena began to read.

  


Suddenly the moon crystal locket on her blouse started to open on it's own accord.   
Serena her eyes taking on a glassy look to them didn't notice as she continued to silently read the book. As the locket on her blouse fully opened to reveal the moon crystal, the crystal suddenly flared out a blinding white light. Serena was boldly hurled from her desk across the room to crash across her bed and passed out. The book with a almost animal like growl of frustration slammed shut and the clasp once again snapped shut.

  


Serena lying flat on her back unconscious didn't see as her moon crystal gradually dimmed and the locket once again slowly closed.

  
  
  



	2. Libris Demonica chapter 2

  


Disclaimers are on chapter 1

  


Libris Demonica

  
  


Chapter 2

  
  


by Weirdbard

  
  
  


As Serena lay on her back on the bed after being thrown there by the crystal's reaction to the book, the book slowly rose till it was standing on end on her desk facing the bed.

  
  


The book was a evil entity. Once so very long ago it had attacked the Moon Kingdom and had been stopped by Queen Selene, mother to Queen Serenity who would someday be mother to Princess Serena. Queen Selene in the brief war had destroyed Necronomicon's allies or exiled them to other dimensions. One of which would come back and attack the earth many, many centuries later. It had been known as Pharo 90. As for Necronomicon, his punishment was too be infinitely worse. He was stripped of his humanoid form and was changed into a book. A book that contained all the frightening secrets and evils that had been in his humanoid mind. Then Queen Selene had the book cast into a portal that lead to other dimensions. She felt sure that the book would never return. So sure was she that she banned all mention of the war or the book. Within time everyone on the Moon Kingdom had forgotten about the book or the war.

  
  
  
  


The face on the book opened it's eyes and stared at the unconscious young woman lying on the bed. It had vowed revenge against all the members of the Moon Family and after finally making its way back to this dimension it had it's new minions searching endlessly to find them. Finally one of its loyal minions had found Serena and arranged for her to gain possession of the book. The book's plan was to have been simply to devour Serena's soul but the moon crystal she wore prevented that. Still there was more than one way to destroy a person. Subtle ways that the protective crystal the young woman wore would not detect or prevent. The 'lips' on the book slowly started to move as though the book was silently reciting something. A red haze in the shape of a bubble appeared in the room and began to expand out till it covered the book and Serena's sleeping form. The spell was a distortion spell. Anything Serena heard, seen, dreamed or felt could be controlled by the book as long as she stayed within the field of the bubble. The Book would have preferred the spell to be located permanently on the young woman but was lacking in energy to do such a thing. So it compromised. As long as Serena was near the book, her mind was it's to twist and manipulate.

  
  
  
  


Serena opening her eyes found herself in a gloomy hallway. The ceiling of the hallway was festooned with cobwebs and dust showing that none had been here for a very long time. On either side of the hallway there were doors. Each door was solid black in color and marked on each door in gold was the astrological symbol for one of the planets. One wall of the hallway had Mercury, Earth, Jupiter, Uranus, Pluto. The other wall Serena could see had Venus, Mars, Saturn, Neptune and in the distance Serena could make out the door opposite Pluto symbol door had a small crescent moon symbol on it.

  
  


Running over to the door marked with Mercury's symbol, Serena tugged on it. A almost blinding light came flooding out as the door opened inward to the hallway.

  
  


Serena standing in the now open doorway looking into the room beyond saw that it was a classroom. As a matter of fact it was her classroom at school. As Serena watched silently she saw the teacher call on a student near the back of the class. Very close to where Serena was looking in from the doorway. As the student rose to her feet to answer the teacher, Serena noted with shock that she had her unique 'meatball' hairstyle and hair coloring. As the young girl timidly opened her mouth and answered the teacher Serena almost called out in shock. It was her! That is the student answering the teacher was also Serena. As Serena watched the teacher had the other 'her' walk to the chalkboard to solve a mathematics problem. Hearing whispering Serena looked over and saw that a student she didn't know was whispering to Amy who was sitting next to her.

  
  


"I bet the airhead won't get the answer right. What do you say?"

  
  


Amy answered the girl with a whisper of her own. "No way will I take that bet! Everyone knows that Serena is a complete idiot! She'll just be lucky to get back to her desk after failing to solve the problem without falling on her face."

  
  


Serena in the doorway stumbled back into the hallway in shock. As soon as she did the door slammed shut.

  
  


"That couldn't be Amy! She doesn't insult me behind my back!" Serena cried out loud in the hallway. "Does she?" She added a moment later in a unsure voice. "I mean I am really bad in math, that's true but Amy doesn't really think that I am an idiot does she?"

  
  


A very shaken Serena glanced across the hallway to the door marked with Venus's symbol. Taking a deep breath she gathered her courage and walking over she pulled the door open.

  
  


As this door opened, Serena could see that the room beyond was the local arcade where she hung out most of the time with her friends. Sure enough Serena could see from her position in the doorway herself sitting at the table they always chose. Sitting at the table with her was Amy, Raye and Lita one one side and Mina sitting next to her (the her at the table) on the other side.

  
  


The Serena at the table laughed at something one of the others said and then flipping her hair back with her hand she got up and walked over to the counter to talk to Andrew. Serena in the hallway was just about to walk out to try and find out what was going on when she heard Mina whisper to the others.

  
  


"That Serena thinks she is so beautiful with that ridiculous meatball hairstyle. I think they make her look retarded. Don't you?"

  
  


Raye nodded her head but then said. "It's a good thing she wears them though. With her hair down you two would look so much alike we might have problems figuring out which one of you was who."

  
  


Serena was shocked when Mina's face turned red and stormy looking. "You take that back Raye! Serena has a face like a horse! I am a thousand times better looking than that cow!"

  
  


Serena with a sob stumbled back into the hallway. Once again as soon as she was clear of the door it slammed shut.

  
  


"Mina thinks I'm ugly?" She sobbed out loud to the empty hallway.

  
  


Serena glanced at the next door beside Mina's door. It was marked with the symbol of Mars. She reached out a trembling hand and placed it on the doorknob but couldn't bring herself to turn the knob and open the door. Finally she removed her hand and looked across the hallway to where the door marked with the symbol of Earth was. 

  
  


"Darien's door." Serena said out loud to herself. "I will try that one next. I know that he loves me!" Racing across the hallway Serena twisted the knob and whipped the door open.

  
  


This time there was no scene with a phantom Serena in it. As Serena's eyes adjusted from the gloom of the hallway to the lighted room beyond she could see that it was Darien's bedroom in his apartment. And Serena was not there. Raye was. And she was in Darien's bed, with Darien. They were both naked and they were making love.

  
  


"NO! NO!" Serena sobbed as she crumpled to a heap in the doorway.

  
  


Raye riding on top of Darien as he lay in the bed suddenly stopped and cocked her head as though she had heard something.

  
  


"Darien? Did you hear something?" She asked him.

  
  


Darien rubbed his hands up and down Raye's sides laughed. "You are just being paranoid. Serena is too trusty and stupid to suspect us and besides the front door is locked and no one has a key to it but me. Serena asked me for one a while back but I made up some excuse and never gave her one.

  
  


Serena raised her head from where she lay crumpled in the doorway. "That's right. I asked him for a key a short while ago so I could bring him cookies or clean his apartment while he was at work and he told me that he would have one made soon but never mentioned it again."

  
  


As the sounds of Darien's and Raye's love making began again, Serena painfully dragged herself back into the hallway so the door could shut and silence the sounds that were ripping her heart to pieces. Having no more energy, Serena lay in the center of the hallway and allowed herself to sob hysterically.

  
  


After what seemed like an eternity, Serena raised her head and with blurry vision from the tears streaming in her eyes stared down the hallway. She already knew that she didn't want to know what was behind the rest of the scout symbol marked doors but there was one last door she had to open. No matter how painful it was going to be, she had to know what the door marked with the small crescent moon symbol had waiting behind it.

  
  


Stumbling to her feet Serena weaved and staggered down the hallway till she reached the end. 

  
  


Reaching out a hand that was shaking so severely, Serena was unsure if she could even grab the doorknob. She took a deep ragged breath and opened the door with the moon symbol. As the door slowly opened, Serena could see the swirling mists that marked the entrance to the Gates of Time where Pluto stood guard. Blinking the tears away Serena could finally see Pluto sitting in a chair with Rini sitting on the floor before her.

  
  


"Are you positive Luna P?" Rini asked Pluto using her favorite nickname for the most solitary of all the Sailor Scouts.

  
  


"I've told you before Little Lady. Yes Serena is to be your mother in the future.......Unless something happens to change the timeline." Sailor Pluto replied.

  
  


"But I don't want her to be my mother! She is such a klutz and a idiot! She never does anything right!" Rini grumbled as she folded her arms across her chest.

  
  


Serena's legs gave out on her and once again she crumpled to the floor in the doorway. "Even Rini hates me?"

  
  


Rini's face looked up in hope at Sailor Pluto. "Wait a minute! You said unless something changes the timeline? What do you mean Luna P?"

  
  


"Darien will wed Serena, even though he is having a affair with Raye because he wants to use Serena as a puppet leader in the future. He will be able to make laws that will be unpopular with the people and then blame them on Serenity. However, if Serena were to die in what is the present for her. Raye will marry Darien and she would then become Queen." Sailor Pluto explained to Rini.

  
  


"What would that mean to me? Would I cease to exist?" Rini asked nervously.

  
  


"No. You are destined to be born. The only thing that would change is that Raye would be your mother. You would inherit Raye's beauty and grace and your hair would be black not the color it is now. Of course your hair style would change to match that of Raye's as well."

  
  


"Oh Luna P! I want that! I would love to be the child of graceful Raye and not that bungling fool Serena!"

  
  


Pluto looked sadly down on Rini. "I would love to be able to do that for you Little Lady. Serena is not the best leader in the future but my position as Guardian of the Gates of Time does not allow me to interfere with the timeline." Sailor Pluto's face took on a evil look that Serena would never believe she could. "However, if someone or a group were to take it upon themselves to see that a 'accident' were to befall Serena, I would not interfere in that either."

  
  


Serena couldn't believe her ears as Rini laughed. "That won't be a problem! All the scouts hate Serena but just act like they like her because they think she is going to be Queen in the future! If they know we can change that and let Raye be the Queen they will help me get rid of Serena!"

  
  
  
  


Rini woke up laying on her bed. Glancing out the window she frowned. It was dark out. Glancing at her clock she noticed that it was 8 P.M. Late to be eating dinner but not too late. She wondered if Serena had ordered the food like she said she would. Climbing down stairs, Rini made her way to Serena's bedroom and knocked on the door. Hearing no answer, Rini opened the door and peeked in.  
She smiled when she saw that Serena was lying across her bed sound asleep. So much for Serena's assertion that she could shop all day and night without dropping.  
Rini frowned however when she noticed a very faint strange red haze in the room. Blinking a few times she managed to convince herself that she had been seeing things though. Rini also noticed that Serena was twitching in her sleep and seemed to be sweating a great deal. Worried that Serena might be coming down with a cold and feeling hungry herself she called out. 

  
  


"Wake up Mommy! I'm hungry and you said you would order us some food."

  
  


Serena with her mouth open in a silent scream suddenly sat straight up on her bed and looked around in horror and disorientation.

  
  


"What? Where am I?" She asked her voice a little hoarse from the dream crying she had done.

  
  


"You are here at home Mommy. Where else would you be? I didn't want to wake you but you said you were going to order us some food and then you fell asleep." Rini added the last part mischievously. She couldn't resist teasing Serena just a little bit about falling asleep.

  
  


Inside the distorting field, the words that Serena heard were: "You are in your bed Meatball Head! You forgot to order us food like you said you were, you idiot! Why do you always have to be sleeping?"

  
  


Serena upset about the dream she just had, although she couldn't remember much of the details, was shocked by Rini's words and the hateful tone in which they were delivered.

  
  


"I'm sorry Little Lady. I will order the food right now. Please don't be upset with me!" She practically cried to Rini. Leaping to her feet she quickly raced out of the room past a confused Rini to get to the phone downstairs to order them some dinner.

  
  


Rini couldn't understand why Serena acted so upset. "Its almost like I told her I hated her or something." She muttered to the empty room. As Rini started to switch off the light and leave the room she cocked her head once more and stared into the room. She could almost swear there was a kind of reddish bubble in the middle of the room. You could only see it if you held your head just the right way. Shaking her head, Rini once again dismissed the idea and shut off the light.

  
  


Serena watched Rini as she ate the food she had delivered. Serena herself found she had little appetite. She kept getting flashes of the dream she had had and then there was how Rini talked to her as she woke up.

  
  


_"If it hadn't been for the fact that I heard her voice so clearly I might have thought it was still part of that horrible nightmare I was having. Maybe Rini was just cranky from being asleep herself? Gods, I hope so. She has become so dear to me. If she started hating me in real life like she did in that dream, I don't think I could survive it."_ Serena thought to herself.

  
  


Rini for her part was watching Serena whenever she could without being spotted. 

  
  


_"Why is Mommy acting so weird? She almost acts as though she thinks I am going to suddenly attack her. She must have had a bad dream."_ Rini finally decided to herself. After the last of the food was gone and Serena switched on the tv, Rini sat down on the couch beside Serena and wrapped her arm around her waist. Serena for her part tensed slightly and then began to relax and placed her arm around Rini's shoulder.

  
  


_"Rini does love me. That was just a stupid dream. My friends care for me and don't hate me either. And Raye and Darien would never cheat on me."_ Serena gave a little laugh.

  
  


Rini looked up at her in surprise. The TV show they were watching was a mystery and she didn't see anything funny to make her mother laugh like that. Rini shrugged her shoulders. She didn't care what it was that made her mom laugh, she was just happy to see Serena smiling again.

  
  


As the show ended, and Rini didn't think it was that good of a show anyway, she managed to figure out who the murderer was before the TV detective did, Serena then made her go upstairs and go to bed.  
Serena then took one last circuit of the house checking to make sure the windows and doors were locked up tight for the night. She was a little insecure being alone in the house with her parents away.

  
  


Going upstairs to her room, Serena quickly undressed and put on her pajamas. She had the creepy feeling she was being watched. Looking around the room the only thing she spotted was the book she had bought sitting up on the desk. With a shudder at once again how ugly a book it was, she went over to lay it back down on the desk in the right manner (and maybe cover it with a cloth). As soon as her hand touched the book however the eyes on it snapped open and once again Serena found herself in a dazed trance. Under the books light hypnotic control, light so as not to awaken the crystal in the brooch that Serena had attached to her pajamas, Serena sat down and opening the book started to read.

  
  


Being directed by the book's control Serena opened to a page where a picture of a horrible monster with 8 eyes and six arms was displayed. Reading out loud Serena spoke the words under the picture. Even under the book's control Serena had to fight the urge to throw up. The very words themselves felt like bile rising in her throat. She began to have a splitting headache. Finally she uttered the last words under the picture and getting up she stumbled to her bed and past out.

  
  


The picture of the creature in the book began to heave and twist as though it was alive and was struggling to get off the page. With a mighty roar of wind, the picture finally did detach from the book and quickly grew in size and shape till it was a full 3 dimensional being. The creature stood at just under seven feet tall. Thick mucus like material dripped from the corners of its fanged mouth, burning holes into the carpeting where it landed. Looking at the prone form of Serena on her bed it started to drool even more.

  
  


_"Leave her!"_ The creature heard the voice of it's master inside it's head. Turning to face the book, which was now once again standing on end so the face could look at the room, the creature quickly dropped to one knee.

  
  


_"Yes master! What is thy will?" _The creature thought back at the book.

  
  


_"Go out into the world and find me mortals to drain for their energy and send it back to me so that I may gain in strength. I will destroy this woman soon but I wish to toy with her mind and soul first. I shall drive her mad before I manipulate her into killing herself. Now go!"_

  
  


The creature bowed to the book and then with one leap was out of the window and gone. 

  
  
  
  


Luna was hurrying home. She hadn't meant to be out quite so late but Artemis was proving to be quite the silver tongue devil when he wanted to be. He managed to convince her to go with him for a stroll in the park earlier that day and the stroll had lead to other things. Luna under her dark fur blushed at some of the 'other' things he had convinced her to do that evening. She hoped that Serena never found about those things. It was hard enough to convince Darien and Serena to wait till they were married before engaging in any intimate activities. It certainly be almost next to impossible if Serena found out that her own guardian hadn't followed her own advice. 

  
  


Luna was running along the roof tops of houses in the neighborhood. For one thing it was much faster than traveling along the walkways and roadways and another reason was less chance of getting mauled by dogs or hit by cars. As she reached Serena's house, she could almost swear she saw a dark shadow leap from her bedroom window and speed out the front gate. Luna shook her head and looked again closer but saw nothing. Finally leaping to the tree outside of Serena's room she then leapt threw the open window into the room. The first thing she noticed was that Serena was lying on top of her covers in her pajamas and the bedroom light was left on.

  
  


_"That is odd. Serena must have dozed off before she had a chance to turn off the light and get into bed proper."_ Luna mused to herself. 

  
  


Glancing around the room Luna spotted the book sitting up on the desk. Letting out a howl of startlement. (After all the book was really ugly looking with that face on it) Luna leapt on to the bed and landed right in the middle of Serena.

  
  


"What?! Where?!" Serena screeched as she was woken up.

  
  


"I'm sorry Serena I didn't mean to wake you. It is just that, that thing over there startled me. Where ever did you find such a hideous looking book?" Luna explained as Serena managed to calm down.

  
  


They both glanced over to the desk to look at the book and Luna's eyes grew wide as she now saw that the book was now laying down on the table and wasn't sitting up any more. _"It must have fallen over when I leapt onto the bed?" _Luna wondered to herself. 

  
  


"Ah Luna, I am exhausted tonight. Can't we talk about that book tomorrow morning? I want to get some sleep." Serena whined.

  
  


Serena then got up and walked over to the light switch to turn it off. As she moved across the room Luna watched her and could swear just for a moment she could see Serena walk through some kind of red hazy bubble in the room. Luna blinked her eyes but the image was gone and a few moments later the light went out. Luna's cat eyes adjusted quickly to the dark and watched as Serena made her way back to the bed and climbed under the covers. Looking one last time nervously at the desk where the book was lying, Luna then curled up at the foot of the bed and tried to go to sleep.

  
  
  


More chapters coming soon. 

  
  



	3. Libris Demonica Chapter 3

  


Libris Demonica

  


Chapter 3

  


by Weirdbard

  
  
  
  


Serena could feel gritty dust under her fingers and arms from where she was lying and she knew without opening her eyes where she would be. While awake she could only remember bits and pieces from her nightmare but once asleep again she remembered it all.

  
  


"Oh please don't let me open my eyes! I can't bear to go through this again!" She sobbed out loud.

  
  


"Serena? Where are we?" Luna's voice called out to her.

  
  


Serena her eyes snapping open, raised herself up with her arms and looked around. Sure enough she was back in the hallway of doors but this time a confused looking Luna was sitting a few feet away from her. Serena pulled herself up into a sitting position and examined the black cat in front of her. 

  
  


"Are you going to tell me that I am worthless and ugly too?" She asked with a quiver in her voice.

  
  


Luna who had been looking at the strange doors jerked her head to stare at Serena. "Whatever are you talking about?! You are not worthless! You are princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom and soon to be Neo Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo! And as for being ugly? You are one of the most strikingly beautiful women of the past, present or even the future! So now tell me what is all this nonsense about?!"

  
  


"Oh Luna!" Serena cried joyfully and grabbed up the black cat in her arms and hugged it. "I thought I was going to be alone again with everyone hating me!"

  
  


Luna while completely confused about where they were or what was going on, could feel Serena as she shook and cried so she put aside the question of the strange location for a moment and tried to comfort the almost hysterical girl.

  
  


"There, there Serena." Luna said as she patted her arm with one paw. "Tell me what is going on? You will get through this with my and the Sailor Scouts' help and of course Darien's help."

  
  


"That's just it Luna! They won't help me! At least not here! They hate me here and are plotting my death!" Serena sobbed.

  
  


"What utter rubbish! Your friends love and depend on you! They would never see any harm to come to you or allow anyone to harm you......" Luna began but was cut off as Serena placed her lightly on the ground and stood up.

  
  


"There's only one way to prove it to you Luna. Come with me." Serena said in a voice as though she was walking to her own execution. Walking down the hallway she stopped at the door marked with Jupiter's symbol. "Watch as I open the door." Serena said in a depressed voice.

  
  


Luna walking up beside Serena looked up in confusion but then just nodded her head. Serena gripping the doorknob, twisted it and opened the door with a resigned look on her face.

  
  


As Luna and Serena's eyes adjusted to the bright light coming through the doorway they both could see a fight going on in the park. The scouts were battling a youma along side Serena. The youma, which Luna recognized as being one of the Dark Moon Circus creations launched an attack against Jupiter and Sailor Moon threw herself into Jupiter knocking her clear of the attack. Taking only a moment to make sure Jupiter was okay, Sailor Moon then drew the creature away and finally moon dusted it. While Tuxedo Mask and Mini Moon stood beside Serena talking, Luna and Serena in the doorway could see Mars walk over to Jupiter and they could hear them whispering.

  
  


"Can you believe she messed up my shot at the youma?! She's always hogging the glory for herself!" Jupiter hissed angrily to Mars.

  
  


Mars nodded her head. "I know. If it was not for that flying horse's help she would have been minced meat."

  
  


"Its not fair that she gets the powerful weapons!" Jupiter complained. "Those weapons should go to the strongest of us! Not to some wimpy crybaby!"

  
  


Mars nodded her head but then whispered to Jupiter. "Come on we have to appear like we are concerned and happy for her. She's going to be the future Queen and if we don't act all friendly towards her we are going to have problems." Mars and Jupiter then put on smiles that would fool anyone and ran over to Sailor Moon as though they were excited and happy she had taken care of the monster. 

  
  


Luna her eyes growing large in disbelief glanced up at Serena standing with her in the doorway. Serena had her eyes closed tightly but Luna could see tears streaming out. Serena blinked a few tears away and then motioned for Luna to step back into the hallway with her. As soon as they cleared the doorway the door slammed shut.

  
  


"Now you see what I mean by they all hate me." Serena said simply to Luna.

  
  


"Serena! This can't be reality! This must be some kind of dream!" Luna argued pacing back and forth in the hallway in front of Serena.

  
  


Serena didn't say anything but just crouched down and when Luna passed by her again she reached out and grabbed her tail and gave a slight tug.

  
  


"Yeowch!" Luna shrieked. "What do you think you are doing?! That hurt!"

  
  


"Did that feel like a dream Luna?" Serena asked her.

  
  


Luna stopped dead still. "Well no. But there has to be some explanation! We know the scouts! They all care for you! This can't be real! What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

  
  


Serena scrunched her face up tight as she tried to remember. "I can't remember. We defeated the Dead Moon Circus and Queen Helenia didn't we?"

  
  


Now it was Luna's turn to wear a face as she tried to concentrate. "Yes. I remember we won that battle. That was not long ago either I think. Two or three months?" Luna said in question.  
"You see Serena?! There must be something going on! Why else would we both have problems remembering such a important battle? We are either in a dream or someone is controlling our minds! That has to be it!" 

  
  


Luna was pleased when Serena tear stained face showed signs of hope. "Then my friends are not plotting to kill me and Darien does love me?" Serena asked as she wiped at the tears on her face.

  
  


Luna her voice taking on a soft caring note answered. "Of course Darien loves you! What made you think he didn't?"

  
  


Serena said nothing but just walked over to Darien's door and pulling it open she stood behind the door so she would not have to see.

  
  


Luna could hear the grunts and groans of two people being intimate and as she walked over to the door her eyes grew enormous. "Raye and Darien?!" she screeched. "I don't believe it!" Luna in shock backed up and as soon as she was clear of the door Serena released the doorknob allowing the door to slam shut.

  
  


Serena allowing herself to slide down the wall beside the door looked over at the stunned cat. "Are you sure this is a dream or someone controlling our minds Luna?"

  
  


Luna shaking herself from her shock looked over at the dusty, tired and emotionally drained young woman bordering on the verge of collapse. "It has to be Serena! Darien would never do that to you!"

  
  


Serena allowed her head to droop till it rested on her knees. She realized with a slight start that she was wearing her school uniform. For some reason she expected to be wearing her pajamas. "I sure hope you are right Luna." She finally muttered.

  
  


"Have you tried all the doors? And when were you here before that you knew what was behind Darien's door?" Luna asked after a moment.

  
  


Serena rubbed her temples as she tried to concentrate. "I can't remember. I know what I will see if I look behind Mercury, Venus, Darien's and Rini's doors but I don't remember when it was I looked into them."

  
  


Luna was quiet as she thought for a moment. "The only thing I can see we can do is open the other doors. Maybe what is behind them will give us some clue as to where we are and how we got here."

  
  


Serena jerked her head to look at Luna with frightened eyes. "Please no Luna! I can't bear to hear my friends putting me down and hating me any more. Can't we just stay here in the hallway till someone comes or something happens?"

  
  


"No Serena! We cannot. If this is a dream it will not go away till you awake and if we have been transported somewhere and this is real, pretending it will go away will not help us either! You must be brave and strong and do something."

  
  


Serena looked miserable but then nodded her head and got up off the floor. "Right. So which door should we check next Luna?"

  
  


Luna glanced down the hallway for a moment. "Have you tried Raye's door?"

  
  


Serena shook her head sadly. "No after what I saw behind Amy's door I couldn't bring myself to open Raye's door. Of all the scouts I feel the strongest towards those two. Amy was, I mean is my best friend and I have always thought of Raye as the sister I never had."

  
  


Both Serena and Luna looked at the door marked with the symbol of Mars. With a sigh Serena walked over to it and placed her hand on the doorknob. 

  
  


"What was behind Amy's door by the way Serena?" Luna asked her as she watched Serena trying to work up enough nerve to open the door.

  
  


"A scene from school. I was having problems working a math problem and while I was struggling with it Amy sat in the back of the class and whispered to another student that I was a complete idiot and hopeless."

  
  


Luna cocked her head to the side. "That sure doesn't sound like Amy. She never runs someone down."

  
  


Serena nodded her head but then said. "That was what I thought at first but after some of the other doors....." Serena paused. "I don't know any more. How can you be really sure what your friends think and say about you when you are not with them? Maybe they really do think and talk about me that way?"

  
  


"Don't be ridiculous Serena and open that door." Luna replied but in fact in her own mind she wondered herself. The images behind the doors were so realistic and if this was all just a dream why did her tail still hurt from where Serena had grabbed it?

  
  


Serena taking a deep breath jerked open Mars' door.

  
  


As the door swung open Serena and Luna could see the interior of the Shrine that Raye lived at with her grandfather. To be more precise, Serena could see that it was the Sacred Fire room where Raye did her mediations. The fire was leaping and burning as it always was and a few feet away stood Raye, Lita, Mina and Amy. As the two spectators watched, a door at the other side of the room opened and in ran Rini. She ran and threw herself joyfully into Raye's arms. After the happy greetings and smiles with the other scouts, Rini's face grew solemn.

  
  


"We only have a short time before Meatball Head gets here." Rini said. "I ran ahead of her while Darien distracted her. We all know what we have to do?"

  
  


"I don't know Rini. Are you sure there is no other way?" Mina asked nervously. "I mean I know Serena is a ugly, stupid horseface but to kill her?" Mina's voice dwindled at the end.

  
  


"Luna P assured me. If Serena lives she will become Neo Queen Serenity but if she dies then Raye gets to be the queen." Rini replied without a trace of compassion in her face.

  
  


"Okay then. You all want me to snap her neck when she shows up? I can do it." Lita said, cracking her knuckles.

  
  


Luna standing in the doorway glanced up at Serena and could see she was white as a sheet.

  
  


"No Lita! It has to look like an accident. Luna and the outer scouts are not in on this and we don't know where they stand on Serena. Well except for Pluto and we know she doesn't care. We have a pretty good idea that Amara and Michelle both think that Serena is a weakling and not fit to lead us but I personally think that Amara is attracted to Serena and might try to retaliate if she knows we were the ones responsible for her death." Raye answered.

  
  


"Well if that is true then Michelle should gladly see Serena die then." Lita said.

  
  


"I wouldn't be so sure." Amy spoke up. "I think Michelle has a dark side and wouldn't mind if Serena was Amara's plaything as long as she was able to get in on the fun."

  
  


"Look! It doesn't matter! I know how to handle this." Raye interrupted."When Serena gets here, I will tell her that I have sensed a new enemy and we will suggest that we do a fire reading. Once we get her into this room, I will then tell her that I sense the enemy is after her so I need Serena to stand next to me close to the Sacred Flame. I'll make up some nonsense about how this will help me get a lock on the enemy. Once she is close to the fire....." Raye's face took on a unholy gleam. Luna was shocked when she saw the same look on the other scouts' faces. "We throw her into the fire!" Raye finished.

  
  


Amy once again spoke up. "I don't think that is a very good idea Raye. You might be able to set her on fire but what is to keep her from either rolling and putting herself out or what is more likely, run around and trip and set the whole temple on fire?"

  
  


"I know! We can get some of those long poles your grandfather keeps to train Chad with. Will use those to keep pushing Serena into the fire until she dies. Any minor fire damage done to the temple we can claim was caused when we valiantly tried to 'save' Serena!" Lita said snapping her fingers.

  
  


Luna hearing a thud glanced back and saw that Serena had thrown herself away from the doorway and was laying in a crumpled heap across the narrow hallway.

  
  


"Let the door shut Luna! Please!" Serena sobbed.

  
  


Luna stepped away from the doorway and the door obligingly slammed shut. 

  
  


Running to Serena's side Luna could see the poor girl was in near hysterics.

  
  


"I remember once when we fought a plant creature that Mars used one of her fire attacks to free us. I remember the feeling of the flames licking over my body as it burned away the plant tendrils." Serena muttered. Raising her head she stared at Luna. "I don't want to die that way Luna!" She shouted as she got to her feet and started running down the hallway.

  
  


"Serena! Stop! This isn't real!" Luna shouted as she raced after the terrified girl. "It just can't be real." Luna added almost to herself.

  
  


Serena, her eyes blinded with tears was only able to run a short distance before tripping and falling to the floor. Looking up she saw she was lying in front of the door marked with the astrological sign of Uranus.

  
  


Luna reached her side a moment later. 

  
  


"Luna? Didn't Raye say she thought that Amara had feelings for me? Maybe she will protect me from them?" Serena said getting to her feet and grabbing hold of the doorknob.

  
  


"Serena. Have you tried to talk to any of the scouts when you open the doors?" Luna asked skeptically. She couldn't believe that if it was possible none of the scouts had noticed when Serena and her where standing in the doorway.

  
  


Serena shook her head but then opened the door. "I know Amara will help me."

  
  


As the door opened and once again Serena and Luna's eyes adjusted to the light they could see what looked like a basement. Along the walls of the basement very bright lights had been arranged to cast a spotlight effect in the middle of the room.

  
  


What was trapped in the center of the spotlight caused Serena's eyes to almost double in size and Luna's mouth to drop open in shock.

  
  


A very naked Serena hung from chains from the ceiling. In front of her was a also naked Amara who was roughly kneading Serena's breasts and kissing her savagely while behind Serena stood Michelle welding a long wicked looking whip.

  
  


Michelle would lash out with the whip across Serena's bare back while Amara muffled Serena's screams with her mouth over hers.

  
  


Serena in the doorway was frozen. She couldn't move or make a sound so deep was her shock at the sight.

  
  


Finally Michelle eased off the whipping and Amara took her mouth away from a weakly struggling Serena.

  
  


"I was always attracted to you Moonface but you only had eyes for that idiot Darien! Well if I can't have your love I will then at least have your body." Amara whispered almost tenderly to the hanging Serena, placing her hand on Serena's face she gently caressed her cheek and then pulling back she slapped the exhausted woman.

  
  


"Come on Michelle! Let's let her rest for a while before we play again." Amara said as she turned to put on her clothing.

  
  


"I still can't believe she came to you for help when she thought the other scouts wanted to hurt her." Michelle said with a laugh.

  
  


"Oh well, poor Serena. She never was the brightest one." Amara answered with a smirk and then deeply kissed Michelle.

  
  


Serena in the doorway was finally able to move. Luna noted with worry that the woman didn't run from the doorway but just calmly turned and strolled away from it.

  
  


"Serena?" Luna asked her as she too stepped away from the doorway and allowed the door to shut.

  
  


"That's it then, isn't it Luna? I can't trust any of the scouts. They all want me dead....... Or worse." Serena said with a shudder. "I have to get away from them all somehow." 

  
  


Luna worry increased as she noted the dead calmness of Serena's voice. A sure sign that the young woman was bordering on total collapse.

  
  


Luna opened her mouth to say something to try and calm the young woman, although in truth she had no idea what she could say, but was interrupted by a loud ringing noise.

  
  
  
  


Serena with a scream sat bolt upright nearly throwing Luna from the bed.

  
  


"It was a dream?!" She cried. She quickly felt around to make sure she was lying in her bed and not some dark and dusty hallway somewhere. Once again she couldn't remember the exact details of her nightmare but only that it had been horrible beyond belief. Concentrating Serena could catch the foggiest of glimpses. Things like Raye talking about her burning to death or images of her hanging nude while Amara brutally groped her.

  
  


"I am never eating take out food that late again and then going to bed." Serena muttered to herself. 

  
  


Looking over at Luna, Serena was worried when she saw the deeply serious look on the cat's face. Luna kept glancing back at her tail and twitching it.

  
  


"What's wrong Luna?" She finally asked her.

  
  


"My tail hurts as if someone pulled it." Luna looked up and answered Serena.

  
  


Serena could tell from the look in Luna's eyes that she had had the same nightmare that Serena went through.

  
  


"What do you remember from the dream." Serena asked.

  
  


Luna shook her head. "Only bits and pieces. Something about you being in danger from the other scouts but I don't know why."

  
  


Serena sat looking down at her hands lying on the covers of her bed. She noted almost absently that they were shaking slightly. "Do you think the dreams are a type of warning Luna?"

  
  


"I don't know Serena but I just can't believe that the scouts would ever try to harm you."

  
  


Serena was about to answer her when the door to her room opened. Looking up Serena thought for a moment that she was looking through a slight red haze. Blinking her eyes rapidly she noticed the haze was gone and it was Rini standing in the doorway.

  
  


"That was the phone Mommy. Raye has called for a meeting at the Shrine. She says another youma attacked last night and that she and the others tried to contact us over our communicators but we didn't answer. She says her and the other scouts destroyed the monster but she wants us at the Shrine now! I think she maybe mad at us." Rini said.

  
  


Inside the distortion field what Serena and Luna heard: "That was Raye on the phone. She says thanks to your laziness and incompetence, her and the other scouts had to handle a youma by themselves! She says she and the other scouts now realize that they don't really need you anymore and she wants you at the Shrine now to discuss it!"

  
  


Rini not realizing that the words Serena heard and the ones she had spoken were not the same, shut the door to allow Serena to get dressed.

  
  


Serena looked down in shock at Luna. "I'm doomed Luna! What do I do?"

  
  


Luna looking none to sure herself just replied. "You know Raye. She is just upset at the moment. I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding and we can clear it all up as soon as we get to the Shrine this morning."

  
  


Serena nodded her head sadly and getting up started to get dressed.

  
  


As soon as Serena got dressed she started to reach for the book to put it in a knapsack on her back.

  
  


"Serena? Why are you taking that book with you? I very much doubt you will have any time to do any reading today. Especially if there are new enemies out there." Luna asked her.

  
  


Serena shook her head as if she was waking up from almost sleep walking and then nodding her head she picked up Luna and walked out of her bedroom leaving the book behind.

  
  


In the now empty room the book's eyes opened for a moment and then closed. On it's 'face' it had a satisfied smirk on it.

  
  
  
  



	4. Libris Demonica Chapter 4

Disclaimers are on chapter one page.

  


Libris Demonica

  


Chapter 4 

  


by Weirdbard

  
  


Rini waited for Serena downstairs and was pleased when her future mother showed up in record time. Raye really sounded mad on the phone and Rini was worried what they might do to Serena for not showing up for the youma attack last night. Although Rini knew her communicator never went off last night and was pretty sure that Serena's hadn't either.

  


Rini's worry about Raye was blown completely away when she got a good look at Serena coming down the stairs however. Serena looked terrible. Her golden hair hung limp, her shoulders were slumped and she had dark rings under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. She looked like a woman walking to her own execution and she really didn't care anymore.

  


_"Maybe mommy is sick? She seemed all right, if a little edgy last night though."_ Rini thought to herself.

  


"Come on mommy! We will have to run to get to the temple as quickly as we can. Raye was really upset on the phone!" 

  


Serena looked at her future child with the most sad and depressed look that Rini had ever seen on her before. "Why don't you run ahead Rini. I will be there as soon as I can."

  


Rini paused in confusion. First Serena hadn't called her 'Little Lady' which she usually did when they were alone and secondly there was that depressed, defeated expression on her mother's face.

  


"Go on now. I'm sure there are things you want to discuss with Raye before I get there anyway. Don't keep her waiting. I will be right behind you." Serena said.

  


"Um, okay mommy. But do hurry you know what a temper Raye has." Rini said and then ran out the door.

  


"Be careful Rini! If there was a youma last night that might mean we have new enemies! Be careful!" Serena called out after her and then added with a sob after she was gone. "My precious little one."

  


Luna looking up in worry at Serena said. "Serena! That was just a dream we had last night! Rini and Raye are not planning on killing you at the shrine today! After all I seem to remember Amara and Michelle in our dream last night. We haven't seen them since the heart snatchers. They are not here so our dream has to be wrong."

  


Luna was pleased to see Serena's doom and gloom look on her face clear slightly at her logic. "Okay Luna. Let's go and have Raye yell at us." She said picking the black cat up and placed her on her shoulders. "Hang on tight I am going to run as fast as I can."

  
  


Arriving at the Shrine, Serena pasued out of breath outside the door to Raye's room. Inside she could hear Raye yelling.

  


_"This is going to be fun." _Serena thought sourly to herself. Sliding open the door she entered and then almost leapt back in shock.  
Leaning on one of the walls of Raye's room was Amara, Michelle and off to the side slightly stood Trista.

  


All of the women in the room glanced at the open door when Serena opened it. Raye had a angry look on her face and it was obvious that she had been arguing with Rini. The look faded as she saw how Serena looked. It was Amara who put all their thoughts into words however.

  


"Serena? You look like hell!" She said and moved over to Serena's side. Reaching out a hand Amara touched Serena on the cheek. "What's wrong moonface?"

  


Amara was shocked when Serena leapt away from her touch as if she had burned her. The other scouts glanced at each other in confusion when they saw a white faced Serena trembling in the corner of the room near the doorway. Amara was even more shocked when Luna leapt off of Serena's shoulders and took up a position between Serena and Amara as if she was protecting Serena from her.

  


Michelle coming up beside her partner looked in confusion at Serena. "What's going on?" She asked.

  


"That's what I would like to know. Where were you last night Serena?!" Raye yelled coming up beside Amara on her other side. Raye took a half step back when she saw the stark terror in Serena's eyes as she glanced in her direction. On many a occasion Raye thought that Serena slightly resembled a bunny, what with her meatball hairdo and the long pony tails streaming down behind her like long floppy ears. Now the bunny looked like it was cornered by a pack of hungry wolves.

  


Serena swallowed several times nervously before she could answer Raye. "I was at home in bed, asleep. My communicator's alarm never went off."

  


Raye folded her arms across her chest. "Are you sure? Maybe it did and you just slept past it?!"

  


Rini jumped to Serena's defense. "Like I told you before Serena got here, my communicator never went off either!" She said and stamped her foot in annoyance.

  


"Raye? I know you think I am too weak and foolish to be leader but even if I slept past the alarm, Luna would have heard it. She was sleeping right beside me on the bed all night long." Serena managed to finally say.

  


Raye glanced down at the cat in question and was surprised to see Luna standing between Serena and the rest of the scouts with the hair on her back completely standing up.

  


_"It's almost as if she is preparing to attack us to protect Serena." _Raye thought to herself.

  


"You didn't hear anything either Luna?" Raye asked her. 

  


To poor Serena it was like Raye had stuck a knife into her side and twisted it. 

  


_"She and the other scouts hate me so much they think I would lie and she has to ask Luna? Does she really think I would ignore a youma alert and let my friends fight to the death just so I could catch some sleep?!"_

  


Serena hurt, troubled (and still influenced by the book) thoughts turned from sadness to anger.

  


"Maybe there is something wrong with Rini's and my communicators! You ever think of that Raye?!" She yelled as she straightened her back and glared at Raye.

  


"I don't know Serena." Amy's voice called out. "The communicator's electronics have built in redundancy to insure they function properly at all times. And even if your communicator stopped working, the odds that Rini's would too at the same time are almost impossible."

  


Serena's eyes almost filled with tears as she looked at her oldest and best friend in the scouts. _"Even she thinks I am lying?"_

  


Serena twisted her watch like communicator off her arm and looked over to Rini. "Rini? Take off you communicator and give it to Amy to examine it."

  


Rini nodded her head and removed her communicator and taking Serena's she walked over and dropped them into Amy's hands. Amy pulled out her computer and started to scan the communicators.

  


Serena looking thoughtful and getting more and more angry from her thoughts, turned her attention back to Raye. "So you and the other scouts fought a youma alone last night?" She asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

  


Raye was shocked. "Yes of course we did! We had to when you didn't show up when we tried to call you."

  


Serena glanced over at Amara, Michelle and Trista. 

  


"No, we didn't help them last night." Michelle answered Serena's questioning look. "We were contacted by Trista this morning and told there might be a new enemy."

  


Serena nodded her head at the explanation but then turned back to Raye. "So you fought a youma. That almost insures that we have a new enemy. You couldn't get ahold of me or Rini at all?"

  


Raye nodded her head.

  


"And yet after the fight you didn't call us on the phone or come over to see if we were all right?!" Serena shouted. "What if the youma had attacked us first? I could have been dead and Rini severely hurt and yet you never tried to check up on us till this morning?!"

  


Raye backed up a few paces and glanced at the other girls behind her. It was obvious from the shocked looks on their faces that they too hadn't thought of that last night.

  


"It was a rough fight last night Serena. We barely won and after the fight we were all so exhausted that I guess we weren't thinking too clearly. We just assumed that you....." Lita's voice trailed off.

  


"You assumed that I was too lazy to get up to help my friends in a life or death struggle?" Serena finished.

  


Serena turned her back on the group so they could not see the tears in her eyes. "I don't really care about me, but you all should have checked to make sure that Rini was okay." Serena almost sobbed.

  


Raye looked miserable and tried to figure out what she could say to Serena but was saved from having to speak when Amy shouted in surprise.

  


"There is something wrong with both Serena's and Rini's communicators! The circuits in both of them are fried. My computer detects traces of negative energy in them."

  


"So now you have proof that your leader wouldn't leave you all to fight a youma by yourselves." Serena replied bitterly as she refused to turn and look at the group but continued to star at the corner.

  


"This is serious!" Amara said. "This means that Serena and Rini were targeted by what ever new enemy we might have. They deliberately messed up their communicators so we couldn't call them for help or.... they couldn't call us for help!"

  


Raye turned towards Trista. "Can you tell us what we might be fighting this time?"

  


Trista shook her head. "I've looked into the doorway of time but all I see is a dark cloud. It almost has a feel to it of something very ancient but I can't tell what it is or where it is at. It must be very powerful to block my attempts though."

  


"I know! I can try a sacred fire reading!" Raye shouted.

  


Amara noticed that Serena almost jumped as Raye said it and was starting to tremble slightly. Serena turned back to look at the group and Michelle almost sucked in a gasp at the stark terror showing on her face.

  


"I think my reading will go better if Serena or Rini were to stand close to me while I do the reading. Their communicators seem to imply that whatever we are up against has had close contact with them already." Raye added thoughtfully and then glanced over at Serena. She blinked several times. Serena was pressed against the corner of the room and was shaking slightly. What bothered Raye the most was the way she was looking at her.

  


_"You would think I was the new enemy trying to attack her from the way she is watching me." _Raye thought to herself.

  


Serena's shaky voice replied to Raye. "Let Rini do it. You know how I always try to fall asleep when you do those meditation things Raye." Serena said in an attempt to sound logical. "As a matter of fact it is probably a good idea if Rini stays close to the rest of you for a while. At least till we know what new enemy we might have. I think I should go home and search the place to see if I can find anything unusual." Serena added as she started to inch her way toward the open door.

  


Amara lifted a hand towards Serena's face again, just to check to see if she had a fever or something but was stopped as Serena let out a startled yelp and bolted out the door.

  


"I'll call on the phone if I find anything." Serena's voice drifted back to them.

  


"Serena! Wait!" Luna yelled and then raced after her.

  


Luna found Serena gasping for air and sobbing slightly at the bottom of the temple stairs. Not sure what to say Luna just watched as Serena pulled herself together.

  


"I want you to go back there Luna. Keep an eye on the scouts for me but don't let them know you are watching them! When they finalize their plans on how they are going to kill me, tell me so I know what to watch out for." Serena said between sobs.

  


"This is insanity Serena!" Luna replied. "I can't believe they can be planning on killing you."

  


"You saw it Luna! Just like my dreams! Raye coming up with the idea of the Sacred Fire reading. The outer scouts being here. And they claim they fought a youma last night. Did you see any scratches or wounds on any of them?" Serena said wrapping her arms across her chest as though she was cold and trying to warm herself.

  


Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Come to think of it, no. But that proves nothing! You know how fast you and the other scouts heal when you are transformed!"

  


"Just do this for me Luna, please? Keep an eye on them without them knowing it and tell me what they talked about." Serena begged.

  


"Well I don't like the idea of spying on the other scouts but..... Okay, if only to prove to you that you are wrong and the scouts are not out to kill you." Luna finally agreed. With that Luna ran back up the stairs to the temple. Serena watched her go and said quietly to the wind. "I pray that you are right Luna. I don't think I would want to continue living if it turns out my friends all hate me and want me dead."

  
  


Serena turned and started to run home. She couldn't quite explain it but it felt as though something was pulling her back to her house. That and she knew she would feel safer once she got home and locked the door.

  


The tears in her eyes making her vision blurry caused her to run full tilt in to someone.

  


"Haven't done that in a while." Serena thought ruefully to herself as she was helped off the ground by the person she ran into. Looking up Serena felt her breath catch in her throat. The person she had ran into, was of course Darien.

  


Serena started to throw her arms wide and leap into Darien's arms but suddenly flashes of her dreams where Darien was with Raye entered her mind and she found herself pulling slightly away.

  


Darien having been contacted by Raye earlier that day about the youma attack and Serena and Rini's not showing up to help and was too distracted to notice Serena's attempts to put some distance between her and him.

  


"Serena! Where have you been? After Raye called me I have been trying your house constantly!" Darien said.

  


_"Maybe Darien still cares about me? He seems worried." _Serena thought with a faint ray of hope.

  


"Raye says she couldn't get ahold of you or Rini last night! Is Rini okay?!" Darien continued.

  


Serena felt like the bottom of her soul had just dropped out._ "He is only worried about Rini! He didn't even ask me if I was okay or notice that I have been crying."_

  


In a almost emotionally dead voice Serena replied. "Rini is okay. Our communicators didn't work last night. Rini is at the temple with the rest of them. I'm going to go home and check out my house and see if I can find anything unusual. Why don't you go to the temple? I'm sure Rini and Raye will be happy to hear from you." Without waiting for a reply Serena broke free from Darien's grasp on her shoulders and turned and walked off.

  


Darien looked in confusion at Serena's back. He felt that there was something wrong but couldn't decide what it was. Hesitating for a moment he finally decided to take Serena's advice and go to the temple and see what Rini could tell him.

  
  
  



	5. Libris Demonica Chapter 5

Libris Demonica

  


Chapter 5 

  


by Weirdbard

  
  


The first thing Serena did when she reached her house was to make sure that all the windows and doors were barred, all of them except the one in her room. She didn't bother to go to her room to lock that one because she wanted to leave a way for Luna to get inside when she reported back. Finally coming to a rest in her livingroom Serena fell to her knees and started sobbing.

  


After a short time Serena lifted her head. The confusion and suspicion put there by the book was starting to clear.

  


_"My friends and my future daughter can't be planning my death! I just don't believe it! Not after all we have been through together. Something is not right here. I feel like I am trying to think through a wall of cotton candy." _Serena thought to herself. She started to get a slight headache as her mind tried to make sense of the jumble of emotions she was suffering with. Getting up from the floor she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Opening the door she stepped inside.  
Just for a split second she thought she could see a red hazy bubble as she stepped into it but the thought disappeared instantly as the book once again took control of her mind.

  


As though Serena was suddenly sleeping walking she walked over to the desk and sat down. The book lying flat on the desk sprang open and turned to a page on it's own. Serena with only the slightest frown on her face to show she was struggling against the book's control started to read out loud. The page had a picture of a being dressed in highly formal wear. Top hat and cape included but the drawing's face was not that of a man but a hideously deformed monster. As Serena finished reading out loud the final word, she was thrown back by the explosion of darkness that came pouring out of the book. She landed on the bottom of the bed and slid off to land in the floor, out cold.

  


As the darkness in the room cleared, the monster in formal wear was seen standing beside the desk where the book was looking down on the fallen young woman. The creature had a mouth filled with jagged and yellow teeth. It's eyes were different sizes and one was slightly higher than the other one on it's face. All in all it looked a young child had tried to sculpt a man out of clay but got the dimensions slightly wrong. As the creature continued to stare at Serena a thin line of drool dripped out of it's mouth to land with a hiss on the floor burning new holes in places the previous monster's drool had missed. The creature looked over at it's master, the evil book, which was now closed and standing on end so the face could see the room clearly. The eyes of the book looked at it's creation and the mouth moved.

  


"No. Do not harm her. I am having far too much fun destroying her soul. Go out into the world and bring me energy." The book hissed at the creature.

  


The creature nodded it's head and leapt out of the bedroom window and was gone.

  
  


Back at the Raye's temple:

  


Luna was slightly proud of herself. I mean it took a creature of great stealth and ingenuity to sneak into a room filled with Sailor Scouts and mange to climb into the rafters of the building without being spotted. Well okay, it helped that those same Scouts were not paying much attention at the moment to anything but a fight going on between a very young girl and a hot tempered black haired Scout. 

  


"Why do you treat my mother so badly?!" Rini shouted not for the first time at Raye.

  


"I don't treat Meatball Head badly!" Raye shouted back, again not for the first time today. "I am just worried about her! I want her to take things more seriously and be more careful!"

  


Luna's ears twitched. This certainly didn't sound like two people who were planning on killing Serena when she least expected it.

  


Artemis noticing when Luna snuck into the room had followed her into the rafters silently. Sitting behind her and watching as Luna obviously tried to eavesdrop on the scouts. "Luna? What are you doing?" He finally asked.

  


Luna with a screech of surprise leapt to her feet from where she had been crouched on a rafter, lost her footing and started to plummet to the floor. Luckily Amy looked up and managed to catch the cat before she could hit the ground.

  


"She was listening and watching you all." Artemis voice called out from the rafters.

  


Luna in Amy's arms closed her eyes tightly. If Serena was right and they were out to kill her Luna knew they would not hesitate to kill her too. After a few moments Luna opened her eyes to see the concerned eyes of all the scouts watching her.

  


Amara was the first to speak. "What are you doing here Luna? I thought you left with Serena? Serena needs someone to be with her if our enemies have singled her out for attack! You could call us for help on your communicator!"

  


Amy's eyes grew large. "I didn't even think of Luna's communicator! If Rini's and Serena's were burned out by negative energy then there is a good chance Luna's is as well."

  


The door to the room swished open to reveal Darien standing there.

  


"Daddy!" Rini shouted with glee and raced over into his arms.

  


Darien hugged his future daughter for a moment and then looked at the gathered scouts. "What is going on?" He finally asked.

  


Raye with a glare at Luna replied. "That is just what we were wondering. Serena has been acting funny and just a few moments ago we caught Luna trying to spy on us." Raye walked over to where Luna was trying her hardest not to cringe in Amy's arms. "Spill Luna! What is going on?"

  


Before Luna could respond, it was Rini who spoke. "Mommy has been acting weird ever since she got that new book. I don't like it myself. It gives me the creeps!"

  


Luna giving a shudder nodded her head. "Me too! I have never seen such a ugly and horrible looking thing."

  


"Book?" Trista asked.

  


"What can be creepy about a book?" Amy asked as she started to pet Luna's fur to calm her down.

  


"It has a face on it." Rini answered her.

  


Trista's eyes grew wide. _"Why does that sound familiar?" _She thought to herself. Out loud all she said was, "I don't like the sounds of that."

  


Raye started to open her mouth to say something but was interrupted when everyone heard a scream from outside. Racing outside they spotted at the base of the temple stairs some young girls being crowded against the rails of the stairs by a tuxedo clad man wearing a cape and top hat.

  


"Tuxedo Mask?" Mina shouted in shock and then looked over at where Darien was standing with Rini still in his arms.

  


The creature hearing the shouting turned his attention away from the young girls giving them a opportunity to escape, which they smartly did. Turning it looked up at the scouts revealing it's misshapen face.

  


"Whoa! Definitely not Tuxedo Mask!" Mina shouted again.

  


The creature debated silently with itself. To go after the young women and the man at the top of the stairs or run across to the park where it could feel the life-force of dozens and dozens of young people enjoying themselves. Finally deciding that the larger energy traces of the park were more attractive it turned and raced off in that direction.

  


"It's time to kick youma butt!" Amara shouted eagerly.

  


"Wait!" Trista stopped her as she went to transform. "I think the inner scouts, Tuxedo Mask and Rini should handle the youma and Uranus and Neptune should go check on Serena!"

  


"You think the creature showing up might to be to draw us off while something attacks Serena?" Michelle asked.

  


"Could be. It seems odd that it should appear outside Raye's temple were we all are." 

  


Amara and Michelle nodded their heads and quickly pulling out their transformation pens changed into Uranus and Neptune.

  


As the now transformed inner scouts and Artemis and Luna raced off to the park to fight the creature, Uranus and Neptune raced towards Serena's home. Trista watched them for a moment and then opening a doorway to the Gates of Time she stepped into it to do research on a book with a face.

  
  


Serena lying on the floor entered another one of the book's dreams. This time she did not find herself in a hallway of doors but found herself.....in her own room. The book controlling the dream recreated every last detail of the real world bedroom. Down to the book itself lying on the desk.  
Serena glanced around the room curiously. She had a sense that there was something vital that she was suppose to be doing but she could not remember what. Looking at the window, the dream Serena watched as a battered and badly beaten Luna came sailing through the open window.

  


"You were right Serena! The other scouts are planning on killing you! They caught me after I heard their plans. I barely managed to escape with my life to warn you. They are coming here now to finish you off!" The dream Luna shouted.

  


Suddenly it all came flooding back to Serena. The hall of doors. The overheard plans of the scouts. The horrible sight of what Amara and Michelle had planned for her.

  


"What should I do Luna?!" Serena pleaded with the cat.

  


"Run Serena! Run! You are no match for all the scouts. You have to get out of her and run far away!" The dream Luna shouted at her.

  


The dream Serena shook her head yes in a wild manner and turned to gather up some things to take with her. She didn't see the dream Luna's eyes glow a evil red color for a moment or see the sadistic look of satisfaction cross the feline's face.

  


Suddenly the sleeping Serena's eyes shot open wide and Serena leapt to her feet. Looking at the window she noticed that Luna was no where in sight now.

  


"She must have went to try and hold off the scouts to give me a chance to get away!" Serena said with a sob. She prayed Luna would be all right.  
For reasons Serena could not even explain to herself, she found herself grabbing up her book bag and quickly stuffing the book on the desk into it and then strapping it to her back. Running to the window Serena peeked out and spotted a quickly moving Uranus and Neptune as they entered her house's front gates.

  


"Oh my god! They are here already!" She whispered to herself.

  


Racing out of her bedroom Serena made a mad dash for the attic. A part of the house that had been converted over to Rini's room. Serena spared a moment to look sadly at her future daughter's room. 

  


_"I still can't believe my own daughter wants her mother dead." _Serena sobbed. Pulling herself together she held up her broach and transformed herself into Sailor Moon. The book bag containing the evil book stayed with her and unfortunately so did the red hazy bubble of the distortion spell. Pushing open the roof access hatch Sailor Moon silently waited.

  


Uranus ran to Serena's front door and pounded on it loudly. Waiting a moment and not hearing anything she then stepped back and summoned her 'World Shaking Attack' and blew the door off of it's hinges.

  


Neptune looked at the fallen door for a moment and then shrugged. If it turned out Serena was in trouble a lost door would be a very small consideration and if it turned out that Serena was in her bedroom quietly asleep? Well she knew that Amara could rehang the door easily enough.

  


As soon as Sailor Moon heard her front door get blown inward, she knew that her fears were real. _"Uranus and Neptune must have been convinced by the other scouts to kill me as well or they are here to make me their slave. Either way I have to get out of here!"_ She thought to herself as she leapt on top of her home's roof and from there starting running along the tops of the other houses in the neighborhood.

  


Sailor Moon running silently for a moment finally pulled to a stop. She had no idea where she could run to. 

  


_"Go to the temple. They would never think to look for you there. They will be searching everywhere else and you will have time to think of a plan."_ The book whispered into Sailor Moon's mind.

  


Not realizing that she was under the control of something else Serena made up her mind to hide at Raye's temple and began to run as fast as she could there.

  
  


Back at the fight at the park:

  


Mars and the other scouts quickly helped to evacuate the park and then corner the creature near the water. The creature with a snarl removed his top hat revealing a head shaped like a lumpy potato and then threw the hat at Jupiter.

  


Jupiter almost felt like laughing but out of instinct anyway ducked as the hat sailed towards her. Her amusement at the creature's 'feeble' attack was wiped away as she saw the hat cleave easily through a statue that had been behind her. The hat then sailed obediently back to the creature's hand. The statue's head fell off and landed at Jupiter's feet.

  


"Someone has been watching too many James Bond movies." She muttered to herself before yelling out a warning to the others to be careful of the hat.

  


"Hey you! Formal wear is meant to be worn for times of great happiness and joy. I will not let you besmirch the image of a tuxedo to do your evil!" Tuxedo Mask's voice rang out.

  


Luna standing off to the side with Artemis and Sailor Mini Moon looked at him and then rolled her eyes. "I think his speeches are getting more and more cornier all the time." She muttered.

  


"But they are at least getting shorter." Mini Moon replied.

  


Tuxedo Mask paused for a moment. He could feel the usual energy surge he felt when Serena transformed herself into Sailor Moon. _"Uranus and Neptune must have found her and told her about the youma. No doubt they both will be here soon." _He thought to himself.

  


Tuxedo Mask pulled out one of his roses and threw it at the creature confident that would stop it or at least slow it down. His confidence turned out to be misplaced however as the creature without a blink of it's misshapen eyes swatted the rose out of the air with it's walking cane. The creature then pointed the cane in Tuxedo Mask's direction and it suddenly extended.

  


"Hey that is my trick!" Tuxedo Mask managed to get out before he was struck in the stomach by the cane and knocked backward.

  


"Flame Sniper Arrow!" Mars shouted and fired her flaming arrow at the creature.

  


The creature for it's part only took off it's hat and allowed the arrow to disappear into it. Then like a magician he made a few passes over the hat with one hand and pointed it back at Mars. Mars' flame arrow shot out of the hat straight back at her. Throwing herself to the side Mars managed to avoid the arrow. The creature then replaced the hat on it's 'head' with a laugh.

  


"How do we beat this creature Mercury?" Venus shouted as she tried to get around behind the creature.

  


"I'm working on it!" Mercury shouted back as she wildly typed on her computer.

  


Suddenly the creature's hat fell over the creature swallowing it completely. The hat then sailed over the scouts heads to land behind Mercury, who was still trying to get a scan of the monster. As though the hat was 'throwing up' the monster, the creature appeared out of it standing behind Mercury.

  


"Love chain and encircle!" Venus shouted and quickly shot out her chain to snare the creature before it could attack Mercury.

  


"I've got it!" Mercury shouted excitedly and then noticed that the creature was right beside her struggling against Venus's chain to attack her. Leaping backward Mercury yelled. It's the rose on his lapel! That is it's weak point!" 

  


Tuxedo Mask still holding his stomach where the creature's cane had hit him, shouted. "The rose? That is my area I think." Pulling a rose out he threw it at the rose in the creature's lapel.

  


The creature finally breaking free from Venus's chain started to turn to try and protect his rose but he was a fraction too late. Tuxedo Mask's rose smashed into his rose turning it instantly into ashes. The rest of the creature quickly turned into dust and was sucked up into the hat which continued to rotate in mid air for a moment before it too exploded into dust and was gone.

  


"Moon dusted!" Venus shouted with joy using Sailor Moon's favorite saying. 

  


Mars looked around worriedly. "Shouldn't Neptune and Uranus have found Serena yet and called us?"

  


"I felt Serena change into Sailor Moon a short time ago. They are probably on their way here." Tuxedo Mask said.

  


A few seconds later the before mentioned Uranus and Neptune came running into the park.  
Before any of the scouts could ask, Uranus said. "We found no signs of Serena or a book with a face at her house but there are some weird acid like burns in her carpet near her desk."

  


"That is where the book was." Sailor Mini Moon said worriedly.

  


"I think we should go back to the temple and consult the Sacred Flame." Mars said.

  


All of the scouts nodded and knowing they could travel faster as scouts than their normal selves they decided not to de-transform.

  
  
  



	6. Libris Demonica Chapter 6

Libris Demonica

  


Chapter 6 

  


by Weirdbard

  
  


Sailor Moon sneaking into the temple grounds found them empty. She didn't even spot Chad or Raye's grandfather anywhere.

  


_"Perfect!"_ she thought to herself. Quietly she made her way to the main sitting room. The very place where she had been confronted by the scouts that morning. Not knowing why she did it, Sailor Moon quickly removed the book from it's bag and placed it propped up on a small table along one wall. Looking around once more she then de-transformed back into Serena and collapsed to the floor. Emotional and physical exhaustion were quickly sapping her strength.

  


Hearing a crackling and popping noise Serena glanced out through a open door and saw the Sacred Fire burning in it's special room.

  


_"I haven't come anywhere safe! I have come to the most dangerous place I could possible choose! Why did I come here?!" _Serena gasped to herself remembering the dream about Raye's plans to burn her alive in the Sacred Fire.

  


Leaping to her feet, her heart beating almost out of control, Serena started to flee out of the temple but was stopped when she heard the sounds of someone coming in. Trying to swallow her fear she then turned to run out through the Sacred Fire room but heard sounds of someone coming in from that way as well. Now completely trapped Serena looked for a place to hide but the large room was empty of everything except cushions to sit on and the one lone table she had set the book on. Shrinking back against the wall the table was sitting on Serena prepared herself to face her former friends.

  


Mars came in from the Sacred Fire room. She knew her grandfather had taken Chad out on some kind of survival training in the wilderness and wouldn't be back for a week so she didn't bother to change back to Raye. As she entered the room she actually missed seeing Serena almost tucked into a ball with fear near the back wall.

  


Sailor Mini Moon coming in the other door to the room however didn't.

  


"Momma!" She yelled out in joy causing the other scouts coming in to swiftly glance in the direction Mini Moon was looking.

  


Mini Moon charged across the room, intent on throwing her arms around her mother. However as soon as she reached the red hazy bubble she bounced off as though she had hit a brick wall and landed on her butt.

  


"Serena!" Darien and the rest yelled and raced towards her as well.

  


Inside the distortion field what Serena saw and heard was all of the Scouts racing toward her with blood lust in their eyes and shouting.

  


"There she is! Kill her! Kill her now!"

  


Serena shrank back till she could feel the edge of the table behind her pressing against the back of her neck and sobbed. "Just tell me what I did! Why do you all hate me so now?! Please tell me! I will change!" She cried.

  


Tuxedo Mask wanting to comfort his sobbing love reached out for her but was repelled by the bubble. To Serena's eyes it looked like he was reaching to strangle her but pulled back at the last moment with a sadistic sneer on his face. 

  


"Serena what's wrong?!" Darien shouted to her.

  


To Serena what she heard was. "Serena you are going to die today!"

  


Suddenly behind the scouts a portal opened and out came Sailor Pluto. Darien in worry and shock by how Serena was now quaking in fear turned to Pluto. "What's wrong with her?!"

  


"It's the book behind her. It is controlling what she is hearing and seeing." Sailor Pluto explained.

  


Tuxedo Mask and the rest of the scouts glanced past Serena to where the book was propped up on the table. The book's eyes were open glowing a malevolent red and it's mouth was open revealing rows of tiny sharp looking teeth. As they watched the book hissed at them. In the sudden joy of finding Serena alive and in the temple they hadn't even noticed the hideous book till Pluto pointed it out to them.

  


Tuxedo Mask whipped out a rose and with a single gesture flung it at the book. Sailor Mars having the same idea a moment sooner had already shouted. "Flame Sniper Arrow!" And launched her own attack. Pluto's warning yell of "NO!" came too late.

  


The flame arrow being faster than Tuxedo Mask's rose flew straight at the book, reaching the barely seen red bubble first. As the flame arrow hit the bubble it's flight suddenly bent almost 20 degrees and now instead of flying toward the book was headed directly at Serena.

  


To Serena's eyes it looked like Mars had deliberately fired the arrow at her. With a squeal of shock and fear Serena desperately threw herself to the side to avoid the attack but the arrow still hit her in the shoulder burning her shoulder badly.

  


Tuxedo Mask's rose was only slightly behind Mars' fire arrow. As soon as Darien saw Mars' arrow get turned he tried to recall his rose but it was far too late. The rose entered the bubble and just like Mars' arrow was redirected at Serena.

  


Serena didn't have long to think about the fact that someone she loved as a sister had just tried to kill her because she could see Tuxedo Mask's rose heading for her as well. Throwing out her hand in a stop gesture she was barely able to intercept the rose as it headed for her chest. Intercepted it by having the rose plunge into the palm of her hand and the stem of the rose shoot out the back of her hand.

  


All of the scouts gasped in horror and Mini Moon started crying as Serena turned her hand and stared at the rose embedded into her right hand in shock. Tuxedo Mask's roses were shaped and changed by his feelings. They could be as soft and thornless as cotton if he was giving them to his loved ones or sharp and as deadly as any knife. Since he had intended that rose for the book it was razor sharp and had vicious thorns all along it's stem. Tuxedo Mask's horror that he almost caused the death of the woman he would love for all eternity caused the red rose head to turn black and wither instantly.

  


Serena, her eyes still wide with disbelief and shock reached over with her left hand and grasping the rose behind it's now withered and dead blossom suddenly jerked the rose out of her hand with one quick pull. All of the scouts winced in pain and grief for their princess as they heard her let out one tiny whimper of pain as the rose tore out of her hand to be followed by a spurt of blood.

  


Serena continued to hold her hand up looking at the bloody hole and watching the blood pour down her arm. 

  


_"Darien just tried to kill me." _She kept thinking over and over again in her mind.

  


Behind her the book's eyes were almost rolling up in it's 'head' in ecstasy at the fear and pain energy radiating off of Serena.

  


Inside the distortion bubble Serena looked up at the crying scouts but to her eyes they were laughing and cheering.

  


Now experts who study people's minds will tell you there is something called, 'Flight or fight response.' What this basically means is that when someone is faced with a life or death struggle they will either flee from the situation if they can or fight to the death. Serena was trapped. She couldn't flee so that left only one last choice.

  


Grasping her broach with her ruined right hand, Serena grimly called out. "Moon Prism Makeup!" After she finished transforming Sailor Moon moved her left hand from behind her back revealed the Spiral Heart Moon Wand. The most powerful weapon she had.

  


"No Sailor Moon!" Mercury cried. "The book is playing with your mind! We are your friends!"

  


Uranus also called out. "Don't do this Moonface!"

  


Pluto said. "Fight the control the book has over you. Let us help you!"

  


Inside the distortion bubble what Sailor Moon heard was.

  


From Mercury. "Oh look the idiot is going to use her toy on us."

  


From Pluto. "Even if you get one of us. The rest will still get you!"

  


From Uranus. "I don't think you can do it! You don't have what it takes to hurt one of us."

  


Sailor Moon could feel her muscles tense to do the spin to summon the power. The words were in her mind. She had used this weapon hundreds of times before but suddenly her arms went limp and allowed the wand to point harmlessly at the ground.

  


"You are right Uranus. Even though you all hate me now. Even though you all want me dead now. I still love each and everyone of you like sisters. I can't bring myself to harm any of you even at the cost of my own life." Serena opened her hand allowing the wand to fall from her grasp. Before the wand could hit the floor however it slide back into the subspace pocket it came from. Waiting till the next time it's mistress summoned it for help again.

  


The book had weakened the bubble around Serena in preparation for her attack to go through it against the other scouts and was unprepared for Sailor Moon's next desperate act.  
Since Serena had decided to pass on the 'fight' aspect of survival, 'flight' came back again. With a sudden jump backwards Sailor moon landed on the low table and without pause then used it as a spring board and leapt forward over the heads of the scouts grouped around the edges of the bubble. As soon as her feet hit the ground she was out the door and gone.

  


Tuxedo Mask, Mini Moon and the other scouts stood still in double shock. First from Serena's injuries due to Mars fire arrow and Tuxedo Mask's rose and then from her almost attack on them and were caught flat footed as Sailor Moon ran out of the temple for her life.

  


The scouts immediately turned to follow her but was stopped by Pluto. "No we must destroy that book first!"

  


As the scouts turned back towards the book they were met with the sight of the wall behind the book shimmering as though it was water. Suddenly a hole appeared in the wall and with a laugh that left a chill in all their blood, the book flipped up into the hole and was gone. A second later the hole shrank to a pinpoint and was gone leaving a perfectly normal looking wall once again.

  


"Dammit!" The normally cool and collected Pluto swore. "It must have collected enough energy off of Serena to open a portal to somewhere."

  
  


Sailor Moon ran. She ran desperately, fearfully. Even though she was now no longer under the book's direct influence, she didn't have to be anymore. All her doubts about whether the scouts were out to kill her had been settled and settled most convincingly. All she had to do was look down at her still bleeding right hand or her burned right shoulder for that. In her transformed state, her increased healing abilities were already sealing off the hole in her hand and healing the burns on her shoulder. Soon all that would be left would be a small pink scar in the center of her hand....... and a huge hole in her heart. The man she would have died for. Would have killed for. Had just tried to kill her while her friends looked on and laughed.

  


Sailor Moon, her eyes blinded by tears ran home. Home to gather some things together so she could disappear. Leave Japan and try to lose her now blood thirsty ex friends.

  
  


After the book made it's escape, the scouts quickly ran outside but Sailor Moon was long gone. While the others stood around wondering which way she could have went, Mini Moon took off on her own. She knew where Serena would go. She would go home of course. She tried to tell the others but even Pluto just hushed her and told her everything would be fine soon.

  


"I say she will go to the school grounds!" Mars shouted at Uranus. "She would think we would never think to look there!"

  


Tuxedo Mask looked desperately at Mercury. "Can't you track her with your computer?!"

  


"Normally? Maybe but I can't get a reading on her. I don't know if it is because she is so upset that her energy patterns are messed up or the book's influence is keeping me from finding her or she just doesn't want to be found and is somehow blocking her energy from being detected herself someway." Mercury replied in frustration as she typed on her computer. "Can't you tell where she is? I thought you said you could always locate Sailor Moon when she was in trouble!" Mercury finally snapped at Tuxedo Mask.

  


Tuxedo Mask's eyes widened behind his mask and then he closed his eyes and started to slowly turn. Finally opening his eyes he pointed in a direction and said. "She's gone that way!"

  


"Not toward the school." Uranus said folding her arms and glaring at Mars.

  


"No. That way is her house." Mercury said.

  
  
  
  



	7. Libris Demonica Chapter 7

Libris Demonica

  


Chapter 7 

  


by Weirdbard

  
  


Sailor Moon bolted in through the ruins of her house's front door and without pause raced up the stairs to her room. Not even bothering to change back to Serena she jerked open her closet and started stuffing some clothes into a bag. So intently was she on gathering some things up she didn't even notice as the wall behind her desk rippled as though it suddenly had become liquid. Soundlessly a hole opened in the wall and the Necronomicon book flipped through the hole and landed on her desk standing on end with the face staring hungrily at Sailor Moon's back.  
The eyes of the book glowed for a moment and the red hazy bubble was once again around it and Sailor Moon.

  


Suddenly Sailor Moon stopped her desperate search for clothing and slumped bonelessly to the floor. 

  


_"What am I doing?" _She thought to herself despondently._"As Sailor Moon there is no where I can run to that Tuxedo Mask can't track me to, and as Serena I am no match for the Sailor Scouts. I don't even have enough money to get out of Tokyo, let alone Japan!"_   
Sailor Moon once again stared at the hole in her right hand as it continued to slightly ooze blood. 

  


_"I can't run and I can't bring myself to harm my ex-friends and my ex-love of my life. What else is left for me to do?"_

  


Holding her hand out Sailor Moon once again summoned the Spiral Heart Moon Wand. Hearing a noise at her bedroom door Sailor Moon jerked her head and saw Mini Moon standing there.

  


Mini Moon wanted desperately to run to her future mother's arms but seeing Sailor Moon holding the deadly Spiral Wand, she remained frozen at the door.

  


"Don't worry my precious Little Lady. I don't know why you hate me so and want me dead but mommy will make everything all right." Serena her eyes with a almost glassy stare to them said to her.

  


Mini Moon swallowed nervously. Was Sailor Moon planning on attacking her with the wand?

  


Mini Moon's eyes widened with terror as she saw Sailor Moon not point the wand at her but turn it so that the business end of the wand was pointing at Sailor Moon's own chest.

  


"Always remember that I loved you my precious Little Lady." Sailor Moon said sadly. "Moon Wand Self Annihilate....." Sailor Moon started to say.

  


The book watching in glee had once again lowered the power to it's bubble thinking that Sailor Moon was planning on killing Mini Moon. It however, was just as thrilled when it realized that Sailor Moon planned on killing herself.

  


Suddenly a single rose came hurtling from the direction of the room's window and hitting the wand in Sailor Moon's hand and knocked it spinning from her grip to land next to Mini Moon's foot before Sailor Moon could complete her attack on herself.

  


Sailor Moon looked in shock and horror at the window and saw Tuxedo Mask standing beside the window. One hand still on the upper frame of the window.

  


"What do you all want from me?!" She cried. "I am willing to die if that is what you all want and it's obvious that is what you want. I just don't want to be killed by my friends, my future child or my ex-Love!"

  


Tuxedo Mask with tears in his eyes started to cross to where Sailor Moon was trembling but stopped as he saw the red hazy bubble around her brighten. He knew that meant the book had increased the strength of the bubble again and he would only bounce off of it.

  


"I don't want you to die Serena!" He cried. "I love you! All your friends and Rini does too!"

  


Inside the bubble all Serena heard was. "You are going to die today Serena. That's true but it won't be as easy as killing yourself. All of us held a lottery and the lucky winner is the one that get's to kill you!"

  


Hearing a noise, Sailor Moon glanced back at Mini Moon and saw the other scouts come in through the door behind her. Holding her damaged right hand protectively with her left hand over the center of her chest Serena looked at them in horror. Raising her hands in a warding off gesture she backed away. Right towards where the book was sitting on the desk behind her. The mouth on the book widened revealing a black hole behind it's tiny jagged teeth. The scouts in horror could see traces of drool on the edges of the book's mouth as it waited for Sailor Moon to unknowingly back into it.

  


_"I can't believe this is happening!"_ Sailor Moon thought to herself. _"It was just a few days ago that I was so happy! I had the love of my boyfriend and my future daughter. I had a deep abiding friendship with all my friends. What happened?" _She thought as she took a few more steps backwards. _"Everything seemed to fall apart when I bought that horrible book!"_

  


Suddenly as if sensing danger from behind her, Sailor Moon twirled around to face the book. The brooch on her chest opening to reveal the Silver Imperial Crystal. Not even being able to see the book or having any idea why, Sailor Moon yelled out. "Moon Crystal Saving Grace!"

  


A blinding white light shot out of the center of the crystal and smashed into the center of the book. The book only had a brief moment to yell out in anger and loss and then it was gone. Exploding into burning pages that fluttered down and started small fires in the room. The scouts blinded by the pure light of the crystal, blinked a few times in amazement. Not only was the book gone, so was the desk and much of the wall behind the desk. Their amazement turned to shock as Sailor Moon's eyes rolled up in her head and she fell backwards. Before she could even hit the floor, she was de-transforming back to Serena.

  


Tuxedo Mask with a mad dash managed to get under her before she could slam into the hard floor.

  


Mercury stood still in shock for a moment and then calling on her abilities she put out the small fires that were threatening to burn Serena's house down.

  


Rini de-transforming herself, ran to where Tuxedo Mask was gently holding Serena. "Mommy! Is she going to be all right?!" She asked looking to where Sailor Pluto was standing by the door.

  


"Serena has had her mind controlled and abused by Necronomicon. She will be disoriented and confused when she wakes. She might have trouble deciding what is real and what were mere illusions that book put her through. She is also going to be very weak and tired when she comes to. Our future queen has met and defeated one of the worst horrors that ever plagued the Moon Kingdom." Pluto said proud of her.

  


Sailor Uranus looked around at the ruined room. "She is also going to have a hell of a lot explaining to do to her parents when they get back too."

  


Sailor Mars looking around nodded her head. "We can't leave her here, that's for sure. This room is a total write off and there is not even a front door to the house now."

  


Sailor Neptune looked at a guilty looking Sailor Uranus. "Me and Uranus will work on the house. Why don't you take her back to the temple for her to recover?"

  


"Work on the house?!" Uranus asked in disbelief. "I am not a carpenter! I don't know the first thing about it! My skills are in auto racing remember?!"

  


Neptune smiled at Uranus and reaching out she tapped her on the end of her nose. "Then I guess you are just going to have to add to your skills then aren't you?"

  


Tuxedo Mask, his eyes still glued on the fallen woman in his arms, added his own comments to the conversation. "It won't do for people to see the scouts carrying a unconscious girl to Raye's temple in broad daylight. I will de-transform and go get my car. The rest of you de-transform as well and gather whatever you think Serena will need. I will be back in a short time and we can then drive her to Raye's.

  
  



	8. Libris Demonica Chapter 8

Libris Demonica

  


Chapter 8 

  


by Weirdbard

  
  


Serena with a sudden silent scream sat bolt upright from the mat she was lying on. Whiping her head around in fear she examined the room she was in.

  


_"This is not my bedroom! It looks more like..... Raye's bedroom at the temple."_ Serena in desperation tried to convince herself that all of her memories were just bad dreams and that she had probably had a sleep over at Raye's place with the other scouts. One glance at the small pink scar in the center of her right hand however demolished that thought. Reaching up with her left hand she pushed the pajamas she was dressed in away from her right shoulder and felt the new healing skin that covered the burns there.

  


_"It was real! All of it. Darien and Raye tried to kill me!"_ Serene thought with tears springing to her eyes. _"But why didn't they finish it? Why not kill me at my house? Why bring me to the temple?"_ Suddenly in Serena's mind eye sprang the image of the Sacred Fire Burning.

  


_"Oh right. Their plan to make my death look like an accident. Clumsy Serena stumbled into the fire and was burned to death. But wait! Didn't Tuxedo Mask say something about them holding a lottery to see who would get to kill me? Maybe they are just planning on using the fire to dispose of my body or cover up how I was really killed?" _Serena thought as her eyes searched around the room for some way out or clothing to wear.   
There was an external door to Raye's room that lead out to the temple's grounds but Serena only gave it a brief glance. Surely they would have that way out guarded.  
Still any chance was better than none. Serena tried to raise her body and prepare to make a run for it but slumped back to the mat exhausted.

  


_"Of course. That is why I am not being guarded. They know I am too weak to escape. All I can do is lie here and wait to see who comes into the room to be my executioner."_

  
  


_Raye watched in annoyance as Darien paced back in forth in the meeting room of the temple. While she understood his fear and aggravation she wasn't sure how she could explain a worn track in the temple's floor to her grandfather when he got back. Speaking of, Raye was starting to get more than a little worried herself. Serena had been out for two days now. Not only was Chad and her grandfather due back soon, Serena's own parents and brother were suppose to be getting home within a few days as well._  
Raye glanced over to where Amara was casually leaning on a wall. Raye knew that Amara was as nervous and worried as any of them were but she managed to hide it well with a casual and calm manner.

  


The one the wait was the most trying for Raye knew was Rini. The poor girl did nothing more than stare down at the ground and then cry herself to sleep. None of the scouts had gotten her to eat anything for the two days Serena had been out and Raye was worried that Rini might let her own health get too far gone before Serena pulled herself out of her deep sleep.

  


"I'm going to check on Serena again." Raye in an effort to have something to do said and then turned and headed off towards her bedroom.

  


The other scouts didn't even bother to nod. Raye for the whole two days would spend a few moments with them in the meeting room and then would suddenly decide that she should check up on Serena.

  


Sliding open the door to her own room Raye looked in and to her surprise saw a very awake and very scared Serena lying on the sleeping pad on the floor looking back at her. As Raye stepped into the room and slid the door shut behind her she watched as Serena with a whimper tried to pull herself up against the wall behind her.

  


"No Raye! Please not you! I know you won the lottery but let one of the other scouts do it!" Serena cried as she tried to get to her feet to face her executioner. The most she could manage however was to pull herself back enough that she could prop her back up on the wall behind her.

  


Raye in joy that Serena was awake had taken a few steps toward her but pulled to a sudden halt at Serena's words. "Let one of the other scouts do what Serena?" She asked in confusion.

  


"I have always thought of you as the sister I never had Raye." Serena sobbed. "Please let one of the other scouts kill me! I can't bare the thought of you being the one to do it!"

  


Raye couldn't answer her. She was frozen in complete shock. She had, perhaps naievely, thought that once the book was destroyed that Serena would automatically realize that her friends didn't really want her dead.

  


"I am not here to kill you Serena!" Raye finally managed to get out.

  


Serena relaxed only slightly. _"Oh, Raye is just the guard sent to watch me to make sure I am not going to escape. She must have lost the lottery."_

  


Before Raye could say another word, the door to her room slid open once again to reveal Rini standing there.

  


Serena her eyes growing wide in horror tried to crawl towards Raye. "Oh gods! Please Raye kill me! I would rather you did than have my own future daughter do it!!" She cried in near hysterics.

  


Rini her own eyes growing wide started to cry just as hard as Serena. "Mommy? I don't want to kill you!"

  


"None of us do Meatball Head. You were under the control of an evil book that made you think we did!" Raye shouted.

  


At Raye's shout Serena quickly reveresed direction and pulled up tight against the back wall again.

  


In Serena's mind, it kept pointing out all the things she had heard and seen the last week that pointed out that Raye was lying about them not wanting to kill her. It reminded Serena of the wound in her hand and the burn on her shoulder.   
However her heart was telling her that her friends could never deliberately hurt or try to kill her. Serena was in turmoil. Who was she to believe?  
Finally as it always did when her mind and heart didn't agree on something, her heart won."

  


Opening her arms towards Rini, Serena cried. "My precious Little Lady."

  


Rini with her own cry of Mommy ran over and threw herself into Serena's arms.

  


Serena's mind tried to get her to flinch or at the very least tense up expecting Rini to pull a knife and stab her or somthing but Serena's heart overrode her mind once again and all Serena did was hug tightly her future daughter and cry.

  


Raye watched future mother and future daughter hug each other for a moment and then not being able to resist any longer she cried Serena and ran to them and hugged them both.

  
  


Back in the meeting room Amy finally gave up the pretense that she was reading one of her textbooks. For two days she had been staring at her book and still hadn't finished reading the first page. Every time she tried to read her mind would wander and she would find herself reading it over and over again. Finally putting the book down she looked over at Trista. "What was that book anyway? You called it Necronomicon?"

  


Trista who had been standing near Amara and Michelle glanced up. She was rather surprised that it took so long before anyone thought to ask but the last two days had been kind of hectic. What with Serena's near coma and Amara and Michelle and Lita working to rebuild Serena's house.

  


She told them all about the story of the attack of the negaverse lord known as Necronomicon and his war on the Moon Kingdom before Serena's mother Queen Serenity was even born. How he had been defeated by the Queen of that time Queen Selene by her bringing all the planets together to fight him. And how he had been condemened to spend eternity transformed as a book floating through the infinite portals of dimensions.

  


"How come we never heard of this Negaverse lord?" Amara asked.

  


"And how come the planets didn't stay united? If Queen Selene brought them together why did it take till Queen Serenity's rule before they joined to form the Silver Alliance?" Mina asked.

  


"Queen Selene was so sure Necronomicon was defeated completely and his allies scattered she ordered that all references to him and the war were to be stripped from the history books. By the time of Queen Serenity's rule everyone had forgotten about him and the war. And as for why the planets didn't stay united? Well Queen Selene was a capable Queen but was also a harsh one. She just didn't inspire the love and devotion from her people or the other planets like her daughter Serenity was going to." Trista explained. 

  


"I am glad to see that Serena will take after her mother and not her grandmother. She too will be beloved by her people" Trista added with a smile.

  


"Yeah. If she ever comes out of this sleep she is in and can learn to trust anyone ever again." Darien said bitterly.

  


Amara opened her mouth to answer Darien's comments but was stopped when they heard a cough coming from the door to the meeting room. Glancing over at it they spotted a very weak Serena wearing pajamas being supported by Raye. Holding tightly to her hand was a happy but concerned looking Rini.

  


"Serena!" They all yelled but seeing the nervous look on Serena's face they made no motion in her direction for fear they might spook her.

  


"Hi guys." Serena managed to say back.

  


"Is there anything we can do for you?" Mina asked her.

  


Serena seemed to think for a moment and then answered. "Well yeah I can think of two things I would like for all of you to do for me." 

  


"Anything." Darien said and the rest of the scouts nodded their heads.

  


"Well I would really like ...... a group hug." Serena said and then smiled.

  


All of them dashed over to her side and taking turns they hugged Serena.

  


"I must say you really had us all scared Moonface." Amara said as she hugged her.

  


After the hugging, with Raye's help Serena sat down on a cushion on the floor and quickly had Luna in her lap. Idily Serena petted the black cat's fur as Luna purred.

  


"You said there was two things we could do for you Serena. What's the second thing?" Amy asked her.

  


"I could really use a good meal." Serena said with a grin. Hearing her future daughter's stomach growl next to her. She added. "I think we could all do with a good meal."

  


After the food had been delivered and ate, Serena told them all of the dreams she could remember the book put her though (only stuttering and stumbling over the one with Darien and Raye in it) and what she had heard and seen while under it's control. The scouts for their part told her what had really hapened while she was under the book's control.

  


"No wonder you looked so terrified when I mentioned doing a Sacred Fire Reading." Raye muttered when she heard about the dream of them plotting to burn Serena alive. She glanced over to see tears in Serena's eyes again.

  


"I am so sorry my friends! Can you ever forgive me for thinking you wanted to kill me?" Serena said with a slight sob.

  


"Do not be concerned your majesty." Trista replied. "That book was the ultimate of evil. Anyone of us would have thought and believed what it wanted us to believe. If it had chosen to, and been at full power it could have taken us over and had us kill you. Fortunately it's stay in floating among the dimensions had weakened it and it was more eager to destroy the souls of the descendants of the royal family of the moon."

  


Serena glanced down to where Rini had her head in her lap and was sleeping peacefully. The knowledge that her future mother was now safe and with her stomach full of food she had fallen asleep. Serena was glad that Rini had been spared the tale of what the book had made Serena see and think. "Do you mean that after the book had destroyed me...."

  


"Yes. It would then have went after Rini." Trista confirmed.

  


Serena's eyes grew wide. "I just thought of something! I seem to remember dimly blowing the book away at my house with the Imperial Crystal!" 

  


"Yes Moonface. It was an impressive display of your powers." Amara told her proudly.

  


"But my house! My parents are due back soon! How can I explain the house being almost destroyed?!" Serena nearly shouted but then quieted as she saw Rini almost wake.

  


"Don't worry Serena. Amara, Lita and myself fixed the damage. You can't even tell it happened now." Michelle told her.

  


Glancing in surprise at Amara, Serena was able to catch a glimpse of bandages on her fingers before Amara hid her hands behind her back with a blush. "Damn sight easier to drive a racecar than be a carpenter. I can tell you that." Amara muttered.

  


Once again the temple resounded to the laughter of friends and loved ones.

  
  


The End 

  



End file.
